


The Line We Built

by SylvesterM



Series: This Little Line [2]
Category: Smosh
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gift Giving, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Romance, Slow Burn, no beta we die like men, shartney, shourtney
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 38,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23117398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SylvesterM/pseuds/SylvesterM
Summary: Friends? That didn't capture the intimacy of what they were. Lovers? No, they were both too chickenshit to even think about crossing that line. So instead, they did what they did best: Tiptoed on the edge of the line, quietly wondering who would be the first to grab the other and pull them over. Until then, just walking the line was fine.A series of short stories chronicling Shayne and Courtney's journey from friendship to a very, very grey and cuddle-filled area. Companion/Prequel story to Crossing The Line.
Relationships: Courtney Miller & Shayne Topp, Courtney Miller/Shayne Topp
Series: This Little Line [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661683
Comments: 15
Kudos: 107





	1. Best Yogurt Mom

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here it is! After writing Crossing The Line, I felt the need to try and put out a little more Shourtney material. This story will serve to show how they got to where they are in Crossing The Line. Expect lots of fluff. This chapter is inspired by my girlfriend, who loved giving me little snacks in college when we were starting out.

Courtney remembered the first time she saw Shayne going to town on a cup of yogurt.

It must have been barely a week after her breakup, when days were bleak, and it took everything in her to put on a big smile for her friends and the camera. She’d come up with excuses on top of excuses to avoid joining them for lunch out, or snack breaks. That wasn’t to say she didn’t love her friends dearly and enjoy their company, and their earnest attempts at keeping her spirits up. On the contrary, her friends made the transition to singledom a lot easier to deal with.

But sometimes she just really needed a second to be alone, and that was one of those days. Olivia, Noah, and Keith went out to get some smoothies; it was a hot day, so she didn’t blame them. Courtney just said she was still stuffed from lunch, and promptly resumed going over the script she was working on. Shayne on the other hand, said he got his afternoon snack covered. He came back from the pantry with a yogurt cup in one hand, spoon in the other. He dropped onto a vacant beanbag chair with a satisfied sigh.

Courtney peeked over the side of her monitor to look at her friend. Shayne tore the lid off and dug in with gusto, a small smile playing on his lips. It was… a little cute, if she were being honest with herself, to see him so enamored by this little cup of cultured milk. The whole squad loved to eat, and Shayne was no exception. But he _really_ liked this thing. Which was strange, because for as long as she’d known him, he didn’t like yogurt. He’d gone as far as calling it the devil’s milk.

Yet here he sat. A smile plastered on his face, and a smidge of yogurt clinging to the corner of his lips.

“I thought you hated yogurt?” Courtney broke the silence after a few minutes of watching his contented snacking. Shayne’s blue eyes shot up to look at her from across the room. He looked a little bit like a deer caught in headlights, like he hadn’t expected her to notice. Well, to be fair, she’d been quiet all day and not very engaging outside of shoots.

He swallowed and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“This is the first brand of yogurt that doesn’t taste like unhappy milk,” Shayne declared, taking another spoonful and swallowing before continuing, “A friend at the gym recommended it. Great bang for buck both money-wise, and for counting calories and protein.”

Courtney nodded along and soon found Shayne’s smile contagious. He was ridiculous. How good could a stupid cup of yogurt be to have him smiling that much?

“You want some? There’s not much left, but I see the way you’re looking at me, Miller,” Shayne teased.

“Shut up!” Courtney laughed but nodded along. She stood up, ignoring the slight heat in her cheeks at being caught staring. She plopped down on the beanbag chair next to Shayne and was handed the cup and spoon. Courtney sized it up.

It was a single serving cup, branded _Macrogurt_. It was named as such because of its supposedly carefully calculated macronutrients per serving. The perfect snack for the health conscious or muscle-building person. Horrible name aside, it did look pretty good. There were numerous little strawberry chunks mixed into the thick yogurt. There were a couple spoonfuls left.

“It’s not poisoned, Court, just get in there!” Shayne nudged her with his elbow after she took a moment too long looking at it. Courtney rolled her eyes but couldn’t bite back the smile at his jab.

“Well I gotta make sure you didn’t leave a bunch of drool in this thing, Shayne!” She fired back, earning a laugh from the man.

“Oh, you know there’s just _mouthfuls_ of saliva in there!” Shayne then pretended to spit in her direction. She smacked him lightly.

“Stop!” Courtney laughed, and Shayne raised his hands defensively, shit-eating grin still glued to his face.

The spoon finally slid into her mouth, and Courtney found that it indeed tasted quite good. She wasn’t a huge fan of yogurt in general, but this thing was definitely winning her over. She closed her eyes and let out a satisfied hum.

“Oh my God, this is like… definitely one of the better yogurts out there.”

“Told ya!”

Courtney made to hand the cup back to Shayne, but he raised his hand up to stop her.

“You finish it up.”

“This is yours! I can’t.”

Shayne placed a gentle hand on her own, easing the cup back towards herself and away from him.

“You look like you could use it more than me today,” Shayne let the words come out softly, like he was afraid of spooking her. But why on earth would he be afraid of-

“How have you been holding up, Court?”

Oh, that’s why.

Courtney broke eye contact, shifting a little in the beanbag chair. She dug the spoon back into the yogurt and tapped the bottom of the cup a few times in consideration. Shayne had always been a great friend. He was one of the most considerate and caring people she knew. There was no harm in telling him she wasn’t feeling great. He of all people would know how to be accommodating.

“Well… I’m…” Courtney began. She looked up from the yogurt to turn to Shayne. She expected him to be looking up at her with those deep blue eyes of his that always seemed to see right through her, ready to console her and give sage wisdom. Instead, his eyes were locked onto the Macrogurt in her hand; he looked the tiniest bit regretful that he gave up his precious yogurt.

This stupid boy. This ridiculous yogurt loving boy.

She felt a lightness in her chest as a small laugh escaped her lips at the sight of him. Shayne suddenly looked up at her, frowning in confusion at her sudden mirth. The laugh turned into a full-blown giggle fit, now directed at his dumbfounded expression. She struggled to catch her breath and stop the giggles, but it started again every time she set her eyes on Shayne’s bewildered expression. After what felt like ages she inhaled deeply, a hand on her chest. It felt good laughing like this. Courtney wasn’t sure how long it had been since she’d laughed like that, and at such a simple thing to boot.

“You’re so stupid,” Courtney bit her lip for a second, “I’m doing better now. Thank you for this, Shayne. I know how much it pains you to part with your yogurt.”

Shayne’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he laughed and settled on, “You’re… welcome?”

This oblivious boy.

Courtney grinned at him and took the last spoon of yogurt. She stood up from the beanbag chair and turned to face Shayne. She reached down to bop him on the head with the spoon. It earned her a mock offended look, but he said nothing.

After that, every day without fail, Shayne always had a Macrogurt cup in the afternoon. He’d be snacking in the middle of a writer’s meeting. Or cramming it in right before a shoot starts. Or while lounging in the staff room during one of the rare lulls in their schedule. No matter the day, Shayne got his yogurt.

Courtney couldn’t resist looking his way whenever he had his little snack. He just looked so damned content. Usually she got away with stealing looks his way. Other times, she wasn’t so lucky.

“Oh, Court, want some? This one’s got mango chunks and lots of my spit!” He once called after noticing her stare.

“That makes it taste more savory, right? Give it here!” She fired back, which had Shayne’s face scrunch up in disgust.

Other times, she beat him to the punch when he caught her staring.

“God, Shayne, Macrogurt _again_? Add some variety to your palette, my dude!”

“You’ll take my Macrogurt from my cold, dead hands, Courtney!”

But then one Thursday afternoon, after weeks of Macrogurt, Courtney noticed Shayne was acting just a little bit off. He joked a little less. He laughed a little less. He spoke up a little less. Generally, he didn’t seem like himself.

“You guys wanna come with?” Olivia asked, “This is a smoothie kind of day.”

“I’m good,” Courtney smiled, “Thank you though.”

Shayne leaned back in his chair, looking up at Olivia from behind his monitor. He seemed to hesitate before saying, “I got some stuff to do. Could you please grab me a Banana Blast?”

Courtney swiveled her chair to face Shayne halfway across the room. Neither noticed her scandalized expression. No yogurt for Shayne in the afternoon? Surely the planets were misaligned today. This hadn’t happened in like… weeks.

“Comin’ right up! See you guys,” Olivia waved as she stepped out.

“Shayne! How could you cheat on Macrogurt!?” Courtney exclaimed, a hand going up to her face and adding to her melodramatic flair.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Shayne grumbled in an uncharacteristically irritated tone. He put his chin in his hand while focusing on the monitor. Courtney watched Shayne click away, occasionally typing out edits. She pursed her lips in consideration. Her slow steps towards him sounded loud in the mostly empty room, but she paid that no mind. Shayne pulled her out of her funk loads of times, and Courtney would be damned if she couldn’t do the same for him.

“Hey,” Her gentle voice called out as she eased herself onto the edge of his desk. Shayne saved his work before leaning back to look at Courtney. He shook his head. Courtney knew that look, and that little shake of the head. He was upset with himself for being snippy.

“I’m sorry. Been cranky today, I know.”

Courtney nodded in understanding and gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Daddy didn’t get his juice?” She asked with a playful smile, which successfully earned a chuckle from Shayne.

He made a face, but affirmed, “Yeah, it’s been sold out at my grocery place for a while now. I used up the last of my stock yesterday.”

“Try hitting up any other grocers yet?” Courtney suggested.

“No luck with any of the nearby ones,” He sighed.

Courtney bit her lip. This just wouldn’t do. Contented-yogurt-eating-Shayne had become such a consistent tiny source of joy the rough past few weeks. To see him so crestfallen because of his afternoon snack pained Courtney. This wouldn’t do at all. She was going to see him smiling into a cup of yogurt again if it was the last thing she did.

“Tell you what,” Courtney placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, “I’ll keep an eye out for your Macrogurt, alright?”

Shayne looked up at Courtney with a mixture of gratitude and amusement, “You don’t have to go out of your way, Court.”

“Hey, what are friends for, right?”

True to her word, Courtney hit up one of the nearby grocery stores on the way home. Unfortunately, she wasn’t so lucky on the first try; this chain didn’t stock Shayne’s brand. But she wasn’t giving up so easily just yet. She’d try again over the weekend. Friday came and went. Shayne was in better spirits, but it still didn’t sit right with Courtney. It just wasn’t the same without him beaming into a cup of yogurt like a kid opening a Christmas present.

So, over the weekend, she checked out all the nearby grocery chains. She’d go in and head straight to the dairy section. If they didn’t have Shayne’s brand, she’d buy a couple of miscellaneous items she needed to stock up on for the coming week. Rinse and repeat. At least she was being productive either way. And being productive, she’d learned in the weeks following her break up, was the key to keeping your mind off your damned broken heart.

Courtney lucked out on her third visit. This one was a fifteen-minute drive away from her apartment, which wasn’t bad all in all. She was faced with a wide variety of fruity flavors on the shelves. She automatically grabbed a strawberry flavored one, remembering it as the first one they shared. She dropped it in her cart, but then her hand hovered by the shelves for a moment longer.

She couldn’t get him _just_ one cup, right? On the one hand, it’s not like it was her job to be his yogurt dealer. But on the other hand, she couldn’t put a price on Shayne’s giddy, yogurt-eating smile. All the better if that price included a good buy-two-take-one deal…

Courtney grabbed several cups at a time and added them to her cart. She made her way over to the counters with a spring in her step, ignoring how strange she must have looked smiling by herself and pushing her cart of yogurt along. Who cares? She got what she came for and could not wait for Monday.

On Monday, she’d kept it in a brown paper bag and left it in the fridge so it would go undetected until she was ready to bring it out. A couple shoots and meetings later, the afternoon had rolled in. Any minute now, Olivia would right on cue ask if they wanted to stretch their legs and go with to buy snacks. Courtney slipped out of the office and into the pantry before she had the chance. Retrieving the brown paper bag and a spoon, she returned to their office just as Olivia, Keith, and Noah made their exit.

Shayne leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on his desk as he took a break to scroll through his feed on his phone. Courtney had always prided herself with her acting abilities. Part of that was being able to maintain a poker face during shoots, even when just being around her friends made her want to burst out laughing. Today, her poker face was nonexistent, and she knew it. She wore a wide smile on her face as she strutted up towards Shayne. He looked up from his phone curiously as she sat on the edge of his desk.

Courtney licked her now unusually dry lips. She hadn’t really thought about how to broach the subject up until this moment. The days leading to this, Courtney figured she’d just… hand it over. Now that she sat before him, ready to deliver her little gift, she felt unusually shy. But she was being silly; she mentally scolded herself. She was just giving Shayne some yogurt. No big deal.

“Got you something,” Was what her bashful voice let out as she ducked her head the slightest bit. She held the bag out with a reserved smile.

Shayne took his feet off the desk and reached for it, “What’s this?”

He set the cold bag on his lap and peered in. A smile instantly broke out onto his features.

“You did not!” Courtney giggled and nodded in response to his exclamation. Shayne freed the contents of the bag and turned to look at her with his unreasonably wide grin.

This stupid boy and his yogurt. And his stupid happy smile that brightened her day.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Shayne bowed his head appreciatively and wasted no time popping the lid off, “I hope this wasn’t any trouble.”

“Oh, I had to beat an old lady with a stick to get the last one,” Courtney rolled her eyes and waved him off, “You know how it is. Yogurt business is brutal.”

Shayne laughed into his yogurt, “Yeah, real vicious old ladies. That’s why I never go to the store without a taser.”

“But you’re in luck. There’s more where that came from,” She winked.

They eased into their regular line of conversation from there. Stuff about work, YouTube drama, their friends, anything. But throughout the whole thing, Courtney couldn’t help but just unashamedly watch him happily dig into the cup. His infectious happiness gave her life. If she’d known that feeding Shayne would make her feel this good, she would have started at their audition.

The next day, another cup of Macrogurt sat in the fridge, waiting for the afternoon to come in. It was around noon when Shayne sidled up next to her. They were standing off the set for their latest EBE and watching Ian and Ryan instruct Keith and Noah. He nudged Courtney with his elbow, earning a confused glare. Shayne made an act of looking around with shifty eyes.

“So… you got the goods?”

Courtney snorted out a laugh but turned to face his gravely serious face. She cleared her throat and glanced around for any would-be eavesdroppers.

“Yeah, man. I got you covered.”

“Mm,” Shayne hummed, “What uh, what do you have in stock?”

Courtney conspicuously glanced over her shoulder and then leaned in close, “Mango.”

“Tight tight tight tight,” Shayne said rapidly as he took a step back to overtly-casually put his hands on his hips.

“You’re so dumb,” Courtney giggled.

The week went on and so did the yogurt cups. Halfway through the week, when it was clear that Courtney had stockpiled Macrogurt just for Shayne, was when he started feeling a little bad for getting so much free food. It was a short, friendly argument, and Shayne eventually dropped it. Courtney, of course, would never tell him that she did it because feeding him made her heart swell with happiness she hadn’t felt since long before her breakup. Even she didn’t fully understand why it had such an effect on her. The only thing she did understand was that Macrogurt was affordable, and Shayne’s happiness was more than worth it.

When the next Monday came, and the Macrogurt of the day was stashed in the fridge, Courtney sat at her desk. Coffee in hand, she went over the script she was helping Ian write. Olivia and Noah were already in, but as was usual for them (and the whole squad in general), they were quiet since the caffeine hadn’t kicked in yet. Keith was late, but that wasn’t unusual either. Shayne was present, ever the early bird. Upon noticing her arrival, he swiveled his chair to face her and began pushing off the ground to wheel his chair to her desk.

“Goooood Morning, Courtney,” He grinned. It was cute. He was always the first one to really _wake up_ in the office, but even he usually wasn’t this chipper. She offered him a nod in greeting.

“Sleep well?” She asked, frowning briefly at her own choice of words, and how her almost dreamy sigh slipped out in her voice at the sight of his dumb happy self. Get it together, girl.

“I mean – you just seem so – like you’re in such a good mood, you know?” She stuttered to Shayne, who just looked at her with a mix of amusement and confusion.

“I did, thanks,” He laughed slightly and waved a hand to brush the topic off, “But! I just wanted to return the favor.”

Courtney tilted her head at him and tried to muster up the _you shouldn’t have_. Instead, all that came was a shy smile, followed by “Yeah?”

“Yeah, I know how fast paced your mornings are, but coffee alone doesn’t count as breakfast. You know that right?”

She rolled her eyes but agreed just the same.

“I figured you could use your own little pick-me-up in the morning,” Shayne revealed the small plastic wrapper he’d been discreetly holding. It was a chocolate granola bar. Yet Courtney swore it was one of the sweetest gifts she’d ever received. Whether it was because it was from Shayne, or because it was food was anyone’s guess. Courtney sure as hell didn’t know the answer herself.

“Shayne,” Courtney let out a small laugh, “You don’t owe me for the yogurt! You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to,” Shayne gave a shy shrug of his shoulders, placing the bar in her open hand, “Besides, that’ll go well with your coffee.”

“They’re so sweet, what the hell,” Noah’s barely audible voice whispered to Olivia. Courtney felt the heat creep up onto her face as she mouthed a quiet “Thank you,” to Shayne.

He was right; the granola bar tasted divine. Courtney shut her eyes as she savored the flavor. She let out a satisfied moan, “Oh my God, this is amazing.”

On the drive to work the next day, Courtney couldn’t help but smile to herself. Shayne’s yogurt sat next to her on the passenger seat. She didn’t want to go ahead and assume that Shayne got her another granola bar that day just yet. For all she knew, he just got her the one bar. Yet she wondered just the same what flavor it might be, and there she went, grinning like an idiot by herself in her car.

All because of that stupid yogurt loving boy and his stupid smile and gift of granola.

It turned out that the assumption was a safe one that day. And the next day. And the days that followed. It became a tradition. Shayne got her granola bars in the morning. Courtney got him yogurt in the afternoon. The rest of the squad teased them over it the first couple of days. But when days became weeks, they hardly noticed the exchanges. It just became that thing they did.

Naturally it wasn’t “just a thing,” to Courtney. It was what helped pull her out of her post-breakup slump. She was joking freely again, she was laughing again, she was going to the gym again, she was writing more scripts again. She was back in full swing thanks to Shayne and the rest of the squad’s unwavering support.

She could never tell you why Shayne’s contented smile, corner of his lips smeared with yogurt, filled her with such a quiet, deep running joy. Or why seeing him happily digging into the snacks she gave him made her heart feel so full and content. Courtney eventually stopped questioning it altogether, choosing instead to simply enjoy it.

Another workweek rolled in. The squad all went to Disneyland together the last weekend to loosen up and have fun before the shooting for Summer Games started the next week, tiny budget or not. Courtney bumped into Damien of all people exiting the smoffice as she arrived. They exchanged a brief greeting before he was on his way.

It all made sense when Courtney plopped down at her desk and set her coffee down. Waiting for her was a brown paper bag with a yellow sticky note.

_Hey Court, guess who got a stomach bug? I should not have tried to keep up with Olivia’s churro-eating._

Courtney let a hand come up to stifle her giggle. She glanced at Olivia, who stared blankly at her laptop while it booted up. Morning sleepy haze aside, she seemed fine. She’d be happy to know she out-ate Shayne so badly he had to call in sick.

_Anyway, as my pet, I needed to make sure you stay fed, because who knows what you’d do without me?_

She scoffed out a laugh, shaking her head fondly.

_Got your favorite, and a little something from over the weekend. I’ll see you in a day or two._

_\- Shayne_

Courtney reached into the bag, pulling out a familiar chocolate granola bar and setting it down on the desk. She huffed out a laugh at the sight of what she pulled out next. It was a customized Oscar award souvenir undoubtedly from Disneyland. Courtney made a face at the customized title plate at the figure’s base.

**BEST YOGURT MOM**

**COURTNEY MILLER**

“What the fuck, Shayne?” Courtney said quietly as a small flutter began at her stomach before spreading throughout the rest of her body. She set it down on the desk to admire it, beaming ear to ear.

This ridiculous boy.

Courtney bit her lip in thought. She’d definitely pay him a visit after work to drop off his yogurt. Maybe put together a care package for his bum stomach while she was at it. Perhaps she’d get the squad to pitch in for his care package.

Courtney booted her laptop up, sparing another glance at her Oscar while waiting for the desktop to load. She got to work with a small unshakable smile on her face, some granola in her tummy, and of course, the image in her head of Shayne’s dumb grin that he likely wore while penning that note. All that she was missing was the man himself.


	2. Cortknee's Couch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A string of burglaries in Courtney's apartment building has her on edge. Luckily she knows just the person to call to help ease her mind.

Courtney remembered the first time Shayne spent the night on her couch.

It must have been over a month since her breakup. Perhaps a few weeks since Shayne and she started gifting each other their morning and afternoon snacks. At that point in time, Courtney was just getting back into the rhythm of living alone. It went without saying that she was a people person, and she loved having a roommate, whether that roommate was someone she was in a relationship with, or simply a friend. Yet at the same time, she did enjoy having an apartment to herself. It allowed Courtney to have her own quiet moments at the start and end of the day when she could actually hear herself think without interruption.

Besides, she had Jango. Dogs made for the best roommates. They kept you company, didn’t talk, and were obedient good boys and girls.

But then Lady Luck never seemed to favor her too much. Her neighbors were one by one reporting break-ins. A burglar was making the rounds and performing a whole spree of thievery in her building. Nobody was hurt, thank God. He seemed to either break in when the residents were away, or the dead of night when they were asleep. The police didn’t have any solid leads so far. That’s what they told her building’s manager anyway. But who could blame the cops? Her building’s crappy management couldn’t reliably empty out garbage bins, what more install security measures like cameras?

Courtney tried not to think about it too much during her day-to-day activities. She pushed it into the back of her mind, focusing instead on work and her friends. They were always a welcome and joyful distraction. She simply double checked that her doors and windows were locked and went on with her life. She kept up the charade of normalcy, even when she began to see silhouettes in every dark corner and ill intent behind every stranger. But the break-ins kept happening, and her mask of nonchalance was beginning to crack and give way to the anxiety bubbling up deep within.

It was an ordinary day like any other. It was a busy Friday full of shoots and table reads, and Courtney wanted to do nothing but order in dinner then pass out. She’d just gotten off the elevator when she saw the newest development firsthand.

Two police officers stood by her neighbor’s door, speaking to her next-door neighbor in quiet voices. Harry was a few years her senior, with brown curly hair and dreams of dethroning George R. R. Martin as the king of fantasy drama. She learned that Harry’s flat was broken into just that day.

Harry was the type of guy that gave all his neighbors a cupcake if his mom sent him a batch too big. He held the elevator door open for you. He kept his music at a reasonable level. He helped you carry an extra bag of groceries. It pained Courtney to hear that such a gentle soul like him had wound up in the burglar’s sights.

Courtney learned that the burglar was most likely picking locks. Mostly door locks, but the burglar hit the occasional window too (accessed by fire escape), by the sound of it. It sent a chill down her spine then, thinking about her stupid, flimsy door lock and utter lack of deadbolt as she let herself into her apartment. Jango bounded forward to greet her, and she welcomed his affection. She locked the door behind her and slid to the ground, allowing the oversized pup onto her lap as he licked at her face.

She embraced her pup for all he was worth, pressing her face into his fur to keep out of sight the shadows that could conceal her would-be burglar. Her literal next-door neighbor was hit. She was bound to be next. It was easy to distance herself from the other affected homes when they were a floor or two away, but this? The apartment she shared a wall with? Courtney blew a raspberry out, prompting Jango to give her a curious look.

Courtney craned her neck to look up at her pathetic security measures that apparently stood no chance against anyone who knew how to pick a lock. She pressed her face back into Jango’s fur and held the him close. As comforting as Jango’s presence was, her _guard dog_ was an anxious sweetheart who would sooner ask for belly rubs than bark at an intruder.

She wouldn’t be nearly this anxious if her ex was still living with her.

It was a passing thought. A musing that creeped in from the recesses of her mind like a burglar in the night.

No way was she giving him a call.

Courtney scoffed a little into Jango’s fur as she idly ran her hand up and down his back. She was a big girl. She didn’t need him of all people to _protect_ her.

Her subconscious admittedly had a point, even if she didn’t like it. At least some company – that wasn’t her ex – would help her cope better and keep her mind off the anxiety. Her phone was in her hand before she could second guess the thought. Her thumb hovered over Shayne’s name almost automatically.

She paused. Was it weird that she was turning to him first for this? Courtney bit her lip in thought before waving the thought away with her hand. Of course it wasn’t. There was nothing wrong, no double meaning, behind asking him to provide her with a little company for the evening.

Courtney considered her options just the same after her cheeks grew the slightest bit warm at the prospect of inviting him over.

It was either Olivia or Shayne.

Liv would be as spooked and anxious as she was, and that would only serve to worsen the situation and assure their mutual discomfort. That really only left Shayne, who could hopefully scare a burglar away, even if he was a total softie. To top it off, he was used to sleeping closest to the door, so he’d be the first to be killed in a robbery (his own words) like in the Smosh House. And of course, he was caring, kind, and funny, and would be perfect for helping ease her anxiety.

She brought his messages up before she could think twice about the flutter in her stomach that mixed with the unease.

****Courtney:**** Hey, you doing anything tonight?

Courtney pocketed her phone to avoid contemplating her decision. She instead prepared Jango’s dinner and got busy clearing the miscellaneous clutter around her home so it was at least somewhat presentable for Shayne. Semi-used jackets returned to her closet. Dirty clothes went into the hamper where they belonged. The stray book or scrap of paper with hastily scribbled bits were returned to her desk. Jango’s scattered toys were returned to his bed (even if he’d bring them back out in a moment). As she tidied up, she decided she was going to bribe him with his favorite Chicken Pad Thai. If she was going to get him to bring his ass all the way to her apartment to keep her company, she’d make sure he was well fed and happy to join her. Well-fed-Shayne with his dumb contented smile was her favorite Shayne.

Courtney relieved Jango of his bowl once he finished eating before returning to the task at hand. It was cathartic getting everything in order for Shayne’s arrival, even if he hadn’t replied yet. Just the image of him sitting at her dining table with sauce smeared at the corner of his lips was making her feel at ease. Then she imagined him on the sofa, queuing up something on Netflix to pass the time. Then walking around idly, toying with the various bits and pieces on her shelves as he talked to her. He brought a lightness with him wherever he stepped, illuminating the darker recesses in her home, leaving no room for burglars to hide.

After a few minutes of smiling to herself as she swept the floor, Jango gave a quiet grumble. She paused to look at the pup. He looked back at her with a tilted head. He almost looked like he was reminding her of something.

Courtney held Jango’s gaze for a second before it hit her. It was time for their walk.

“Right! Of course I didn’t forget, baby!” Courtney made a beeline for Jango’s leash hanging by the door.

Her phone buzzed just as she got the leash secured to Jango’s collar.

****Shayne:**** More like _who_ am I doing tonight, amirite? ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)

The laugh came out easily and unexpectedly at his ridiculous reply. Jango looked up at her curiously, but nonetheless wagged his tail and patiently waited for her. Courtney smiled at the screen, already feeling her body relax by the slightest bit. She definitely contacted the right person. Now to see if he was actually available.

Courtney made a show of frowning at her phone for no one in particular and typed back her simple but pointed reply.

****Courtney:**** …

She double – no – triple checked that her door was locked before taking Jango downstairs for his walk. Shayne’s reply came sooner than the first.

****Shayne:**** Nobody. Nothing. What’s up?

Courtney allowed Jango to take his time sniffing and inspecting each tree with great deliberation before moving to the next. Her smile faded and her screen grew dim after a moment of staring at Shayne’s message. She hadn’t really planned this part. She just wanted him over. Courtney knew she had to give him some sort of reason for inviting him over. No – if she was inviting him over, he definitely had the right to know that homes were being burgled left and right in her building, and that she was afraid she was next. Honesty was the best policy after all.

****Courtney:**** My next-door neighbor got broken into. Same as a bunch of others.

She probed the waters with that initial statement before getting a quick reply.

****Shayne:**** Shit, are you okay?

She ignored another flutter in her stomach at the urgency and concern in his message. She smiled briefly nonetheless and typed out her next message, deciding to stay honest. She had nothing to hide from Shayne. He wouldn’t make fun of her for her emotions. If he did, she knew it would be in good taste anyway. That’s just how he was.

****Courtney:**** A little anxious tbh

Courtney had finished cleaning up after Jango and was on her way home when her phone buzzed with Shayne’s reply.

****Shayne:**** I got a six pack here with your name on it. Want me to come over?

Courtney bit her lip and didn’t miss the chance to throw a playful jab his way despite her jittery nerves.

****Courtney:**** Jeez dude, isn’t it rule number one not to get a girl’s name tattooed on your abs?

The door to her apartment swung open and she quickly locked it behind her. She crouched down to unclip Jango’s leash and let him scurry off, probably to get a toy. Courtney pulled her phone out to look for the Thai place’s online menu just as her phone buzzed again.

****Shayne:**** Too late. Did I get the spelling right?

“Oh my God,” Courtney muttered aloud as her cheeks reddened like ripe tomatoes at the picture he sent. She laughed in spite of the heat that started in her face and spread throughout her body.

Shayne stood in front of his mirror in a cap, a black shirt, and some comfy looking pants. He had his phone in one hand, six-pack of beer in the other. At the same time, he was lifting his shirt up to reveal his toned stomach. Written with a marker was ****CORTKNEE****.

Courtney allowed herself a moment for the blush to dissipate and her composure to return to her. She took a deep breath, trying (and failing) not to look at his picture while typing her reply. It’s not like she’d never seen him shirtless before. Hell, a good number of his bits involved him getting shirtless to add to the insanity of his comedy. But – her eyes flitted to the photo again – it was different receiving the picture.

No, of course it wasn’t. Courtney shook her head. She was acting like a hormonal teenager. This wasn’t any different from any of his usual gags. Telling herself this allowed her composure to come back quicker, even as she saved the photo to her phone.

This ridiculous, good looking boy.

****Courtney:**** Nailed it. Dinner’s on me.

****Shayne:**** Be there in a sec.

She grinned at the screen. He brought her granola bars for breakfast and now he was bringing her beer to take the edge off this troublesome night. This man did it all.

****Courtney:**** Drive safely

She hit send with a bashful smile on her face. Courtney rang up the Thai place Shayne loved and spoke to the man on the other end of the line for a few minutes to place their order. Afterwards, she went to her bedroom to change into something more comfortable. She settled on a large shirt and a pair of sweats.

Courtney settled on the couch and allowed Jango to snuggle up next to her when her phone dinged. She laughed, startling Jango and causing him to look up at her with mild alarm. She patted her anxious pup to calm him down, shaking her head at the latest picture Shayne sent. It was a selfie from the driver’s seat of his car. He was grinning ear to ear and had one hand covering his eyes.

“You’re insane,” Courtney said. Judging by the red glow that bathed Shayne, it was easy to assume he took the picture at a stop. She refrained from shooting him a reply so he could focus on the road. She put the phone down and fell into a comfortable silence with Jango by her side, idly licking her arm.

The minutes ticked by as she kept herself busy scrolling through her Instagram feed. It helped keep the anxiety at bay up until she heard a knock at her front door. Her heart did a small flip, and her eyes darted to the door’s direction. Jango let out a little whine and looked up at her.

It had to be Shayne or the delivery guy. Courtney stood up, approaching the door with tentative steps. Or it could be the burglar tricking her into opening the door so he could force his way in. It didn’t help that her peephole was weirdly misaligned ever since she moved in, and management couldn’t be assed to repair it. No way to tell who was behind the door. It could be him.

Courtney sucked in a deep breath and shook her head.

No, no that couldn’t be the case. Nobody in the building reported anything like that happening. She steeled herself anyway as she unlocked the door.

It was the delivery guy. Courtney let out a sigh of relief and gave the teenager a polite smile. Once he was paid and she received the delivery, she laid the food out on her dining table in preparation for Shayne’s arrival. She had just set the chopsticks and tissue papers down when a rhythmic knock came from her door. It earned a curious little bark from Jango.

_Knock, knock-knock-knock-knock, knock-knock_

Courtney beamed and made her way to the front door. That had to be Shayne. Jango hopped off the sofa to walk by her side. She opened the door to find Shayne standing there, a friendly smile on his face. He held the six-pack of beers in one hand, and a baseball bat in the other. She laughed and made a face at the sight of the bat.

“Hey. I -” Shayne shouldered the bat, “Came prepared.”

“You ever use that thing?” Courtney grimaced and stepped to the side to let him in. Jango yipped happily and pawed at Shayne for attention. Shayne bent down to pat Jango before slipping out of his shoes.

“I am…” Shayne paused dramatically and boldly walked across her apartment with long strides. He came to a stop by her window, “Absolutely terrible at baseball.”

“Oh God, maybe I should’ve called Wes. At least he’d have like an airsoft gun or something that he isn’t afraid to use.” Courtney laughed.

Shayne pointed the bat in Courtney’s direction and shot back, “Ha! But I’m not afraid to use this either.”

He then parted the curtains, unlocked Courtney’s window, and pulled it open.

“What are you -”

“You hear that, burglar man?!” Shayne screeched out the window, “Daddy’s got a bat and he’s not afraid to use it!”

“Jesus Christ, dude!” Courtney said with a laugh before closing the distance between them. She shut and locked the window, turning to Shayne to try her best to glare at him. But it was no use with him standing there grinning like an idiot. “You’re so dumb,” Courtney smacked him lightly and walked past him towards the dining table.

“C’mon, while dinner’s still hot.”

Shayne picked out two beers for them before storing the remaining four in her refrigerator. He sat down across from her, cracking open the first one and sliding it to Courtney. He allowed the baseball bat to lean against the dining table.

“How are you holding up?” He asked while he opened his own can.

Courtney took a swig and found comfort in the warmth that slowly spread throughout her body. Shayne watched her with calm, kind eyes and an easy smile. It was hard not smiling around him when he looked at her like that. It was like clockwork. Shayne only looked away to take his first large bite, smearing sauce on the corner of his lips just like she imagined. Courtney felt a certain lightness watching him chew. He was jabbing at his box of takeout to mix the sauce well as he waited for her reply. He just looked… contented. Relaxed. It was nice seeing him like this. Courtney looked down at her food to avoid staring at him; she bit her lip to stop smiling too much for no damn reason.

“Better now,” Courtney admitted before digging into her own meal in earnest. They fell into a companionable silence for a moment, savoring their Thai takeout. Jango settled down underneath the dining table between Courtney and Shayne. The pair idly rubbed at Jango with their feet from time to time, neither aware that the other was doing the same thing.

They were about halfway through their dinner when Shayne broke the silence.

“So, what’s the plan tonight?”

Courtney gave a hum before taking a final sip from her beer. She was starting to feel the buzz coming on. “Netflix?” She suggested with a half shrug.

“Let’s watch Hereditary,” Shayne’s eyes lit up a little as he gestured with his chopsticks, “It’s on Prime; it’ll be great.”

“Isn’t that hella scary?” Courtney grimaced, “And since when were you a horror fan?”

“What better way to take your mind off of,” Shayne vaguely gestured around him, “ _This_?”

Courtney felt Jango shift a little under the table. She adjusted her foot to gently rub against what she assumed was his head

“Fine, but you’re paying for my therapy when I get nightmares.”

Shayne made a face and glanced under the table before looking back at her. His face was a mix of confusion and amusement when he shot back at her.

“Are you gonna footsie me into submission?”

Crap. It wasn’t Jango’s head she was rubbing.

“Fuck.” Heat flooded her cheeks as she quickly withdrew her foot. Shayne burst out laughing at her reaction. Courtney attempted to explain herself, “Sorry! I thought it was Jango’s he-”

Courtney felt Shayne’s foot brush against her calf as he made a (poor) imitation of her voice, “ _Pay for my therapy, Shayne! I’m gonna get nightmares! Don’t make me footsie you!_ ”

“Oh my God, stop!” Courtney put her reddened face in her hands and batted his foot away with her own. Shayne’s mirthful laugh bounced off her walls as he complied and withdrew his foot. Courtney risked a peek in Shayne’s direction, only to regret it when he laughed harder.

“Stop!” She hurled a balled-up tissue his way. He deflected it with ease.

“You’re so red.” He said in between laughs. Jango reached up to rest his head on Shayne’s lap, as if checking in to make sure this dumb boy was okay. Shayne fervently patted the dog’s head and bent down to get closer.

“Isn’t mama so red, Jango? Hm? Isn’t she so red?”

Jango gave a confused grumble, but that didn’t stop him from lapping up Shayne’s face anyway. Courtney looked at Shayne making kissy faces at her dog and felt a warmth in her chest that was clearly not from the booze. She liked how Jango’s tail wagged oh-so intensely around Shayne. She liked how his laughter bounced around her modest apartment. She liked how his energy – his presence – effortlessly dashed away her worries. She liked how his stupid jokes and foot rubbing made it easy to ignore the current source of her anxiety. Courtney tried to control the smile that threatened to emerge as she laughed quietly. Maybe she needed to invite him over more often.

She needed to step up her game. One beer in and she was already getting mushy.

“You’re the worst,” Courtney said with a smile she could no longer fight off, eliciting a short laugh from Shayne.

Shayne straightened up and wiped his face clean before giving her a wink, “I know.”

The rest of their dinner went by without incident. They instead fell instead into casual conversation about life, work, their friends, and Defy, which was slowly restricting their freedom more and more. Their recently filmed Summer Games spoke for itself. But they didn’t dwell on that too much, given how Defy was always a bit of a downer to talk about.

Shayne volunteered to clean up while Courtney set up her TV. She plopped down on the sofa towards the left end and began tinkering with Prime. Before long, Jango hopped up to join her by her side. Courtney idly noted how Shayne turned a few of her lights off – probably to set the mood. Shayne followed suite, sitting down on Jango’s right and leaning his baseball bat against the couch’s armrest. He cracked open two more beers, handing Courtney the first.

“Thanks,” Courtney clinked her can against his.

Shayne took a sip before setting it down on her small coffee table. He brought out his phone and turned to Courtney.

“Been planning to watch this for a while now. I was going to post updates to my IG stories to help me get through the whole thing,” Shayne explained as he raised his phone up in selfie mode to capture both of them.

“Wait.” Courtney placed a hand on his other arm with a little hesitation. Shayne paused as requested and turned back to face her.

“What’s up?”

“You think this might make the shippers a bit too rabid? Like… just the two of us watching a movie… in my apartment… in the evening… alone.”

It was Shayne’s turn to feel a slight warmth creep up to his cheeks. He nodded his head in understanding, “Think so?”

Courtney hummed her assent. She knew how this could look to some people, and she didn’t want to get the fans going too much or lead them on. That was always murky territory, but she would rather avoid it completely as much as possible.

“I’ll just record myself, that cool with you?’ Shayne offered.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Courtney gave an encouraging smile and a nod. With that, Shayne raised the camera back up and began narrating his evening plan. Courtney leaned away just a little for good measure. She stifled a giggle when he claimed to be by himself.

The movie began and they watched relatively quietly, occasionally speaking up to make a prediction or a quip at the events unfolding. Shayne intermittently raised his phone up to record his running commentary and how he was currently coping with the movie. Twenty-five minutes in, he admitted one part got him, but he was mostly okay. Shortly after that, when a particularly messed up scene came up, he was quick to update that no, he was not okay. Watching Shayne’s antics brought a little relief from the terrifying movie; Courtney was grateful for that.

The warmth on Courtney’s lap startled her a little from the movie. She turned her attention to Shayne who was looking about as buzzed – and scared – as she was; his hand was on her lap. As if the movie wasn’t bad enough, her stomach did another little twirl at his gentle touch. Courtney gulped a little. Shayne seemed to be oblivious to her reaction to his warm hand.

“I… am going to turn on a light,” Shayne laughed nervously and peeled himself off the couch. He stretched where he stood, causing Jango to look up curiously. He added, “Do you want your third beer?”

Courtney’s hand subconsciously came up to rest where his hand had been moments ago; she suddenly missed the warmth.

“Yeah – yeah, please.”

True to his word, one of her dining room lights flicked on and stayed on. Jango took the moment to stand up, circle his spot for a moment, snort, then claim Shayne’s spot on the couch. Courtney wasn’t sure what exactly her dog’s metric for seat comfort was, but she guessed maybe it was Shayne’s butt-warmth that convinced him to transfer.

Shayne returned with the last two fresh cans of booze. He gave a brief glance to Jango occupying his last spot but shrugged and sat next to Courtney anyway. Jango rested his head on Shayne’s lap, seemingly content with his new position. Shayne opened their drinks and handed Courtney hers.

“Cheers,” He toasted her can.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Courtney shifted a little in her seat, bracing for the rest of the movie. Shayne dutifully recorded his discomfort and horror as the movie continued to escalate with no sign of stopping. Courtney continued to lean out of frame as best as she could while trying not to laugh at his reactions. Neither of them particularly noticed the point they’d inched towards each other by the slightest as the horror was continually turned up.

Courtney pressed herself into the backrest of the couch as far away from the screen as she could, as if it would make the scenes unfolding easier to watch.

“Oh my God, Shayne, how did you talk me into this?”

“You failed to footsie me into submission, remember?”

Courtney laughed. A thick haze had filled her head by this point three beers in. She was scared shitless, so she did the only logical thing to do. She reached for the closest source of comfort now that Jango sat on the far side away from her; she grabbed Shayne’s dumb, warm hand. She held it tight and shook her head at the confused and equally buzzed man.

Shayne offered her a cheeky grin as he placed their intertwined hands on his lap and slurred out, “We’re fine, Court. We’ll be A-okaaa-” a jump scare popped up, “Sweet Jesus!”

Courtney laughed at his expense but held on tighter and got closer to him in an attempt to keep the scares at bay. They watched the rest of the movie like that, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder. They only pulled apart whenever Shayne raised his phone to update his fans, who were cheering him on as he watched. After each update, they fell back into their comfortable position.

Eventually the movie came to an end, leaving the two feeling a little empty inside, and more than a little disturbed. They sat in silence, reflecting on the events that just unfolded onscreen. Courtney redirected her focus instead on the steady, invisible patterns that Shayne rubbed against her knuckles. She let out a quiet sigh and snuck a glance at the man. He was staring blankly at the rolling credits, unaware of her gaze. Then her eyes fell back to their intertwined hands. As soothing as the gentle strokes on her skin felt, she couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassment that she couldn’t quite place.

This wasn’t something that they did. Couples held hands and traced unseen patterns against each other’s skin in dimly lit living rooms. The last time she held Shayne’s hand must have been for emotional support while she was blindfolded, and he fed her dog food on camera. But this was… almost intimate.

The flush in her cheeks came back full force at the idea of the word being associated with Shayne, who was supposed to be her friend and co-worker. God forbid they became anything more. Defy would have their heads and their careers. It wasn’t like this was the first time the thought had crossed her mind. Although, those thoughts were much more fleeting in the past, and much less concrete than they were now. Hell, the thought came up a fair number of times early in their friendship. But of course, back then Shayne was still in his long-term relationship. And then she got together with her now ex. And now they were both single and gifted each other snacks daily. And _now_ they were a little drunk and holding hands in her dimly lit apartment and thinking about this too much was giving her a headache.

Courtney opted to disregard her better judgment and instead enjoy the moment. She rested her head on his shoulder, and let her other hand come up to wrap around his arm. She let a contented sigh slip past her lips. It felt good. There was no need to think about it too much.

His Hereditary-induced trance broke, and he stiffened a little upon realizing that Courtney was unashamedly hugging his arm. Ever the gentleman, he squeezed her hand gently, and asked, “Is _this_ okay?”

Courtney rolled her eyes out of sight. This stupid, sweet boy. As if she wasn’t the one that draped herself around his arm. Courtney raised her head and found her face inches away from Shayne’s. His blue eyes studied her face. For what, she could only guess. She felt his warm, even breathing against her face. Naturally, he smelled like booze and Pad Thai. Courtney would never admit it to anyone, but the odd coalescence was inexplicably the most comforting scent she’d smelled in a while. She tried – and failed – not to look at his stupid soft lips. When the silence drew on for a moment, she remembered that Shayne asked her a question.

“Yeah,” Courtney whispered low, as if she were afraid someone may overhear. Her answer earned her a twinkle in Shayne’s sapphire eyes. He pursed his lips, nodding a little and making a show of serious thought.

“Okay.” Shayne finally said with a smile sweet enough to make Courtney’s insides twist.

“Okay.” Courtney echoed. It was all she could say while captivated by those damn eyes so up close. Courtney swore she was going to kiss this idiot if he kept looking at her like that.

Thankfully, Shayne spoke up before Courtney’s alcohol-laced brain could make her do anything she’d regret.

“How about we watch something a little… lighter?”

“Good idea. Yeah, to take the edge off.”

They ended up playing the first stand-up suggestion that popped up. It took a moment to warm up to the comedian and shake off the earlier scares. Just the same, they soon fell into a comfortable rhythm. They chuckled at the jokes, occasionally throwing out their own based on his bits, or offering critique on how a punchline could’ve been delivered better. Courtney’s head seldom ever left the crook of Shayne’s shoulder.

After about an hour, the credits rolled again, leaving the two in a comfortable silence; the buzz of the alcohol was beginning to wear off. Courtney craned her head to look up at Shayne, only to find him already looking at her. His brow was furrowed in the slightest, like he was thinking of something.

“What’s up, frog legs?” Courtney asked.

“I just realized – I’m sorry, I never got to thank you for dinner.”

This silly, polite boy.

Courtney giggled and gently smacked his arm, “It’s fine. I should be the one thanking you. I’m really glad I asked you to come over.”

Shayne gave her an almost shy smile. Courtney didn’t miss the pink in his cheeks. She genuinely, wholeheartedly meant it too. She didn’t want to imagine how this night would’ve gone without him. Fear would have ruled the evening. She’d need every light in her home turned on just to remove any shred of doubt that no one was lurking in each dark corner. It was no way to live with fear and anxiety bearing down on you like that. Shayne had a way of just making everything easier. There was no being scared around him. The only thing to be afraid of was how her old, latent crush on him seemed to be peaking its head out of the box she’d locked it in long ago. Not to mention, the alcohol wasn’t helping.

“Glad to be here. You ever need anything, just ask.”

The fact that he was such a sweetheart wasn’t helping either.

“Thank you, Shayne.” Courtney released his hand fully for the first time in a while so she could embrace him. Shayne hadn’t expected it. Courtney could tell by how he froze shortly after wrapping her arms around him. She laughed softly and added, “Relax, dude.”

Shayne let out a nervous laugh of his own, but finally allowed his tense muscles to relax and ease into the embrace. His hands snaked around her and he held on in earnest. He pressed his face into her hair and let out a quiet sigh. Courtney didn’t blame him. He had been single for some time now and wasn’t very active or successful in the dating field. This must have been the first time in a while he’d been held like this. It was all the more reason for Courtney to give him the best damn embrace she’d ever given.

But as luck would have it, she never did get to enjoy the good things for too long. Her phone vibrated loudly, shattering the silence that had enveloped them.

Courtney cursed herself for not putting the thing on silent. She could only guess who was calling at this hour. Courtney reluctantly pulled away from Shayne. She didn’t miss how he tried to hold on to her for just a split second longer like the poor touch-starved sap he was. She’d make that up to him later.

“Sorry,” Courtney mouthed to him before reaching for her phone. She frowned at the screen. It was her neighbor, Harry. Courtney felt a gurgle in her stomach as the anxiety threatened to creep back into her psyche. But it quieted down just as quickly when Shayne’s warm hand found its way to her shoulder.

“Who is it?”

Courtney offered him a terse smile, squeezing his hand once, “My neighbor. The one that got robbed.”

Her finger slid across the display to accept the call.

“Harry?”

“Hey, Courtney. I’m sorry, I know it’s late. I figured you’d want to know right away since you got pretty shaken up earlier.”

“What happened?” Courtney frowned, already bracing herself for the worst.

“No, it’s good news! They got him!”

A wave of relief washed over Courtney, and she let slip a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She wasn’t so unlucky after all.

“Wait – really? What – how?” Courtney laughed, almost in disbelief. Shayne smiled from beside her, sensing the good news judging by her reaction. The commotion disturbed Jango. The pup decided to crawl onto Shayne’s lap completely so he could lick at Courtney’s arm.

“He fell and broke his leg. Some lady walking by heard him yelling so she called 911. Things weren’t looking so good for him since he was lying in a dumpster with a broken leg and some broken ribs right below a fire escape that had no business having its ladder down.”

“Seriously?” Courtney’s face scrunched up. It was almost too good to be true.

“Yeah. The lady that called 911 said it all looked pretty suspicious, so the cops came by the hospital and grilled him a little. He ended up confessing. Said he got startled when some guy in the building started screaming out a window. He lost balance and fell a couple floors down. He’s kind of lucky to be alive.”

Courtney looked at Shayne with wide eyes. He stopped smiling to frown at her in confusion, and mouthed “What?”

This was unbelievable. No – no way was she telling him that they caught the burglar because he screamed so loud that he slipped and broke some bones. Shayne would never let her live this down.

“This is… this is great news, Harry. Are you gonna get your stuff back?” She instead said.

“Cops are optimistic that they’ll get a warrant to search his place. Fingers crossed. But don’t mind me, you have a good evening. No need to worry about any damn burglar now.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you for the good news, Harry.” Courtney grinned.

“For sure. Sorry again for the late call. Sleep tight now, you hear?”

“You too. Bye now,” Courtney said before hitting the end call button and turning back to Shayne with a wide smile.

“They got him?” Shayne asked – Courtney nodded – and then added, “Why the weird look?”

Courtney waved her hand in dismissal, “Don’t mind that. What’s important is _they got him_!”

“Hell yes, Court!” Shayne raised his hand up, and Courtney obliged, giving him a solid high five. “This is great! This-” A strong yawn interrupted Shayne as he covered his mouth. It was contagious, and Courtney felt a yawn of her own coming on. The excitement of the day’s activities was finally catching up to her, and she suddenly realized how heavy her own eyelids were getting. Now that the threat was gone, it’s like her body was finally crashing; it no longer needed to stay awake and alert. Shayne cleared his throat before continuing.

“I think that might be my cue to get a move on,” He said with a sheepish smile, “It’s getting late anyway, and now you don’t need your watchful guardian to protect you anymore.”

Courtney bit her lip. Shayne looked mostly sobered up now, but he was still yawning and clearly sleepy. There was no way she’d in good faith let him go drive home in his condition. She had some spare sheets and a pillow or two. Her couch was also reasonably large enough for him to comfortably sleep on.

“You’re not driving out there like that, man.” Courtney shook her head and said with a tone that left little room for argument.

“I’m fine, Court. I don’t want to impose.”

“Impose? Dude, you kept me sane tonight; letting you crash here is the least I can do.”

And that was that. Shayne abandoned whatever argument he may have been ready to throw at her. He instead offered her a genuine smile and nodded his head in acceptance.

“Okay.”

The ghost of a laugh slipped out of Courtney’s lips as she couldn’t help but repeat their earlier exchange, “Okay?”

“Okay,” Shayne echoed back softly. They allowed the silence to linger for a moment before Shayne gave a quiet “C’mon,” and stood up to pick up their empty beer cans.

“I’ll get you a blanket and some pillows.” Courtney stood up with a yawn and made her way to her bedroom to fetch said supplies. She would be lying if she said she didn’t want to spend the night on that couch with him. But that wasn’t a thought that sober-Courtney was prepared to deal with; those weren’t consequences that sober-Courtney was prepared to deal with either. This was a fleeting thought that tipsy-Courtney would forget by tomorrow. Hopefully. She had a good thing going with Shayne, and feelings would just complicate things. Her relationship with Shayne was the last thing she wanted to complicate with her alcohol-fueled feelings.

It was easier this way. Less feelings, less complications. They could just… be good friends, and that was fine.

Courtney emerged from the bedroom with a neatly folded blanket and two pillows. She found Shayne leaning against the couch’s backrest. He looked so homey there in his socks and soft clothes, patting Jango and grinning at him. The sight was enough to make her heart do a little flip or two. She interrupted the serene scene before her heart got any more ideas.

“Heads up,” Courtney called and tossed the first pillow.

“Woah!” Shayne caught the first and set it down before nabbing the second. Courtney rewarded him by clapping sarcastically.

“Wow, you should go pro,” She quipped.

Shayne snorted but puffed his chest out with pride, “I’m gonna be the best pillow catcher there ever was, Court. Just you wait and see.”

Courtney laughed as she tossed the blanket onto the couch. She scratched the back of Jango’s head fondly, “Come on, baby. Time for bed.”

Jango hopped over the back of the couch. He grabbed a toy from his bed before padding in the direction of Courtney’s bedroom. He stopped by the door to wait for her; he wagged his tail curiously as he watched her.

Courtney watched Shayne unfold the blanket and spread it out on the couch. He fluffed the pillows a little and placed them on one side. Shayne gave the set up a nod of approval before breaking into another yawn.

“Thanks for letting me crash here, Court.”

“Anytime, Shayne.”

Shayne nodded again, glancing back at his bed for the evening. He slowly shuffled toward the couch’s front a little too awkwardly. Courtney rolled her eyes fondly. Leave it to Shayne to be too afraid of breaching social boundaries to give her a hug good night even after they’d already spent a little too much time holding hands.

“Well – uh – good night, Courtney,” Shayne was facing away as he rounded the corner of the couch to get to the front side. He didn’t hear or see her close the distance with a few swift steps. “You sleep well –”

Courtney pulled him into an embrace just as he turned around. She held him close and left no space between them. Shayne tensed up again briefly, still unused to the physical contact. Courtney considered loosening her hold to give him a little room to breathe. It quickly proved unnecessary when Shayne’s hovering hands eventually settled against her. One rested against the small of her back, while the other went up by the base of her head. His fingers stopped just short of running through her hair, like it was something he hadn’t earned the right to do just yet. Courtney was so conscious of how Shayne hadn’t been held like this in so long that she nearly forgot the same was true for her, not counting the time. It had barely been two months but by God did she miss this.

It was different when Shayne held her. He was big and strong but held her so carefully like he was afraid of breaking her. Yet there was no shortage of emotion or care in the way his fingers gingerly stroked against her. It made Courtney hold onto him just a little bit tighter to let him now it’s _okay_. He either didn’t get the implicit message or wasn’t ready to hold onto her like that. For now. But that was okay too. Courtney could wait. She’d wait as long as it takes. Feelings or no feelings (who was she kidding?).

“Good night,” She mumbled into his shirt which was way too soft and comfy for her liking. It was just going to make it all the harder to pull away.

“Good night, Court,” Shayne whispered just as softly into her hair.

They held on a while longer, swaying slightly to a silent tune that perhaps only they could hear. Pulling away was a slow process that neither of them were eager to commit to. Courtney didn’t comment on how Shayne was reluctant to ease his fingers off the back of her neck. Neither did he when her hand lingered on his chest for a second too long.

Courtney was the first to step back and slowly make her way to her bedroom. Jango saw her approach and trotted towards her bed. She made it to the doorway when Shayne’s voice called out a simple, “Hey.”

She turned around to face him. He wore a shit-eating grin on his face, and Courtney immediately knew she was going to regret turning to face him.

“Sleep tight…” Shayne paused dramatically, prompting Courtney to squint at him suspiciously. He tugged his shirt up to reveal her misspelled name still written on his abs and finished his sentence, “Cortknee!”

Courtney averted her eyes before she blushed for the nth time that day, but it was already too late for that.

“Oh my God, stop!”

Shayne cackled in response. He left Courtney no choice but to shut her bedroom door and retreat to the safety of her bed. She got under the covers as Jango nestled up by her feet. Courtney slept better that night than she had in weeks. How could she not? She had that goof just a door away, with his voice loud enough to make burglars slip and fall off fire escapes. Half of her went to bed wondering if it was all a dream. It wasn’t every night she got to be held as closely as that by someone who meant more to her than she was fully aware of.

The next morning, she thought she might _still_ be dreaming. Shayne was in the middle of his most heart-achingly domestic scene yet. He stood barefoot in her kitchen, frying bacon on her stove. His head bobbed gently to whatever song was playing on his earphones, while one foot tapped along to the beat. A fresh cup of coffee from her Keurig sat on the dining table, next to a plate of hot toast. It took more restraint than she would admit for her not to greet him good morning with a big hug from behind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for sticking by and reading up until the end here! Please don't forget to leave kudos and drop a comment! Tell me your favorite part, or what you'd love to see more of! I love hearing from you guys! I hope everyone finds the pacing here okay so far. I didn't originally plan to do two Courtney-centric chapters in a row, but this one wouldn't have been as good focusing on Shayne. I expect the next one to be a Shayne chapter though. I'll catch you guys again soon, have a good day!


	3. Letting it Happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the uncertainty of Smosh's future hangs in the balance, Shayne is thankful to have Courtney anchoring him down and keeping him sane.

Shayne remembered one thing clearly throughout the smoky haze of the Defy shutdown. The foggy cloud lasted nearly four months; the days blended into each other, and it got difficult keeping track of time. But through it all, he had one constant. The one anchor that stood out among all the rest and kept him sane. It was Courtney.

Shayne couldn’t remember much from the day they got the email and subsequent meeting. He remembered he didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation at first until it was plainly spelled out for him and the rest of his co-workers. They were given a formal sixty-day notice until being laid off. The steady clacking of keyboards ceased. The idle chatter between crew and cast stopped. It grew so quiet you could practically hear someone’s breathing from across the room. Everyone was devastated. Nobody really knew what to do, how to take it, and simply… what now?

He drove home later that day with a certain numbness. It was all so impossible to take in. Everything they’d built together, all those people they worked with and got to know like family, all the fans they’d amassed under the Smosh banner. Was this the end of Smosh as they knew it? Was Defy going all the way under as well? Did that mean the rights for Smosh were up in the air if Defy was done for? Did they have to search for a new parent company? Shayne remembered pressing his forehead to the steering wheel in defeat for a moment at a traffic light.

Arriving home and settling into his evening routine was another blur. He had dinner. He tried (and failed) to sink his teeth into the latest book he was reading. He booted up his console to immerse himself in one video game world or another (and failed at that too). Eventually he gave up and went to bed. Unsurprisingly, he failed yet again. Shayne tossed and turned for what must have been hours. What he remembered crystal clear from that evening was his phone vibrating on the nightstand, and the message it contained.

His hand shot out to grab his phone; it was a welcome distraction from his tumultuous mind.

**Cortknee:** You up?

Seeing his contact name for Courtney never failed to make him snigger like the very mature boy he was.

Courtney was taking the layoff as badly as the rest of them. It was a cacophony of emotion. All the anger, sadness, and uncertainty balled up into one long stint of numbness that everyone shared in equal measure. It was difficult to process the emotions that the lay-off announcement conjured. They were expected to continue business as usual until early January while looking for new jobs, but how could they? The news broke them all.

Shayne saw Courtney sitting there across the room with that blank, shellshocked expression on her face. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to hold her like she held him in her dimly lit apartment like he was the only thing in the world that mattered. Of course, he was being ridiculous. That moment in her living room couldn’t have possibly meant that much to Courtney. Not to mention it would have been a bit inappropriate at the moment. In spite of it all, he longed to console her. He hated seeing her like that.

**Shayne:** Yeah. Can’t sleep.

Shayne held the phone to his chest and stared up at the ceiling as he waited for her reply. His mind went to Ian. Anyone could guess how he was taking it. Smosh was his and Anthony’s brainchild. To suddenly have that taken away from you? Shayne blew out a raspberry. It was horrible. Ian would have a plan. If anyone would step up to face this crisis, Shayne knew it would be Ian.

**Cortknee:** Can Jango and I come over?

Shayne’s heart flipped at the unexpected request. He could already feel her arms around him and his face buried in those damn gorgeous blonde locks. He was halfway through typing his reply when Courtney sent a swift follow up.

**Cortknee:** Sorry, forget I asked. I don’t wanna impose.

The message ended with a facepalming emoji that made Shayne huff out a quiet laugh. He was typing his rebuttal with haste – only erasing and retyping it once or twice when he realized he might sound too overeager.

**Shayne:** Don’t sweat it. I think I could use the company anyway.

Shayne needed to see her tonight. He hadn’t realized it up until this point, but good God did he need it. Shayne was doing his best not to be clingy ever since that night in her apartment. Something changed between them. He couldn’t say for sure what it was. Sure, they held hands and hugged a couple of times, but that in and of itself wasn’t supposed to lead to anything big; especially when you considered the context of those touches as being for solidarity while watching a horror flick, and as a show of gratitude. Nothing _should_ have changed that night. Yet something did.

He was becoming hyperaware of everything about her. The way she tucked her hair behind her ear when she laughed. How a vaguely fruity tint hung in the air whenever she walked by him. Her carefree bursts of laughter whenever his jokes hit just right (and he realized he’s been trying to make her laugh more nowadays). The crinkle in the corners of her eyes whenever she smiled at him. And whenever she touched him – God – Shayne just wanted her to hold him like she did that night. It took more self-control than he liked to stop himself from holding her hand or hugging her tight whenever she sat next to him at work. There was just _something_ about Courtney’s touch that drove him insane. It was thrill, comfort, and something else all together that he couldn’t explain. His head just hurt the more he thought about his muddled feelings for the girl.

**Cortknee:** You sure?

**Shayne:** Yeah, just drop Jango off with me and I’ll see you on Monday.

He grinned at his phone before peeling himself off the sheets to sit up. It was a bit too late for coffee, but he still had some of that cocoa his parents sent over. Maybe he’d prepare some for them

**Cortknee:** Very funny. I’ll see you in a bit. Thanks Shayne.

Shayne could see her now gently rousing Jango from his slumber before preparing a small bag to bring with her.

**Shayne:** Drive safely.

He went to the kitchen and living room to survey the scene. It was as neat as he left it. The only thing remotely out of place was his green flannel jacket draped over the back of his couch, but that was no big deal. Shayne got to work preparing the two mugs of cocoa for her arrival. He tried his best not to think about her too much while he worked, but he did anyway.

It was a little surprising to him that Courtney texted him and not Olivia or someone else. It was the same little surprise he felt when she texted him about the break-ins. But just like last time, there was no second guessing what he had to do. Courtney was important to him and he’d be damned if he didn’t do his best to make her feel better, whether with his dumb jokes or by just being there. Besides, this time they both needed comforting, not just her.

Shayne immersed himself in the familiar motions of preparing the cocoa. The saucepan simmered, filling the room with the comforting rich, nutty aroma. There was additional comfort in the familiarity of the recipe. This was one thing he knew how to do that didn’t get turned upside down in this uncertain world.

He wrapped up before too long and set the two hot mugs down on his dining table. Shayne just finished washing and drying the cookware he used when a quiet knock at his front door caught his attention. Shayne wiped his hands and made his way to the door. He glanced through the peephole to see Courtney anxiously scanning her surroundings with Jango at her side. He undid the locks and swung the door open.

Courtney was gorgeous in the moonlight. The pale light made her hair look positively radiant, and Shayne tried not to stare. Courtney gave him a small smile, but Jango was having none of it. He rushed forward, practically headbutting his face against Shayne’s leg before running into his home. Shayne watched with a grin as Jango bounded around, exploring the semi-familiar space. He was probably getting that excess energy out of his system when it built up from relocating in the middle of the night. After getting his fill of looking at the excited dog, he turned back to Courtney. He’d caught her giving him this… faraway look.

Shayne gave her a curious look, “How you – okay,” Courtney flung her arms around Shayne’s neck before he could finish. He let out a small startled laugh as the warmth and comfort of her embrace bubbled up within him. Shayne nudged the door closed with his foot and was amused to find Courtney still clinging on.

“Okay, let’s just… get this here,” Shayne hobbled them forward as he encircled his one hand around her waist. With his other, he locked and deadbolted the front door. When that was out of the way, he allowed his attention to focus on Courtney, who still hadn’t said a word. He let his other hand slide up and down her back in soothing motions. They swayed a little, reminiscent of Courtney’s apartment. He wasn’t ever going to get tired of this.

After doing his laps and allowing them ample time to hug it out, Jango finally placidly trotted back towards the pair. He pawed at Courtney and snorted.

Courtney let a small laugh out and pulled back from their embrace just enough to look at Jango. Shayne felt a tug at his heartstrings upon seeing her damp cheeks and puffy eyes. He held her just a little tighter. Courtney kept one arm slung around him while the other went down to scratch Jango’s head.

“I made us some cocoa.” Shayne led with that, for lack of anything better to say.

“Really?” Courtney’s eyes twinkled like it was the best news she’d heard all day. It wouldn’t surprise him if it was. He tilted his head in the direction of the table. Courtney wiped at her eyes before peering over his shoulder to see the mugs in question.

“God, you’re the best,” Courtney released Shayne, but grabbed hold of his arm to pull him over to the dining table, “I thought I was imagining the smell.”

Shayne handed her one mug and then grabbed the second one for himself. He sat down and clinked their mugs together, “Cheers.”

Courtney sat down and wrapped both hands around the warm mug and took a deep whiff with shut eyes. She let the rich smell with its hazelnut undertones fill her system. When she was finally satisfied, she slowly tilted the mug and parted her lips. Shayne listened to Courtney’s delighted hum with a smile before taking his first sip as well.

“Oh man, that hits the spot. I needed this,” Courtney nodded to nobody in particular, her eyes still closed as if to better savor the taste.

“Yeah, you and me both.”

Jango came to settle at the foot of the table. He turned in place a few times before curling up on the floor.

“I always thought… y’know with how like thirty people at a time were getting laid off this year… If we were going to be next, I thought we would’ve seen it coming,” Courtney said. Shayne didn’t miss the loss in her eyes. This was her dream job. Hell, it was his and the rest’s dream job too.

“Doesn’t help that Defy can’t communicate for shit,” Shayne let out a hollow laugh, “I keep asking myself, _what’s next_? I don’t know the answer to that. _Defy_ doesn’t either, I think.”

“Yeah, like… you lay off your entire main cast and crew, then what’s left, you know? They’ve got to be shutting down, right?”

Shayne sipped his cocoa and contemplated his answer for a moment. There was really no telling. They weren’t told why they were being laid off. Defy owned a few other properties; were they being laid off too? Shayne shook his head before answering.

“It’s possible.”

“What are we gonna do, Shayne?”

Shayne looked up from his mug to face Courtney. Her torn, pleading eyes were boring into him, and it killed him that he didn’t have a solid answer. He felt just as lost as she was, even if he tried his best to swallow it down and lock it away. Smosh was his life, and the faceless entity that was Defy was just ripping that away from him – away from all of them. It wasn’t fair or right, and he didn’t have the slightest clue what to do about it.

“I – I don’t know, Court.” Shayne was surprised by the slight break in his own voice, “I keep asking myself the same thing but,” He blew air our of his mouth, “I dunno.”

“You know Ian was just saying we had our best week,” Another hollow laugh, “Main and Pit reached a new viewing and subscriber record. Can you fuckin’ believe we’re not gonna get a chance to break that record?”

Shayne bit his lips for a moment before the words continued to pour out, “I know we still have sixty days. But what does it matter now? I keep telling myself it’s gonna be okay. We just have to make the most with the time we have left, but none of it’s going to matter in sixty days. It’s bullshit. How can they expect us to be business as usual for two months, knowing it’s all coming to an end anyway? It’s all just-”

“Hey,” Courtney gently interrupted the rambling rant that he was beginning to lose himself in. She gently reached for his hands, which he belatedly realized were holding his mug in a death grip. Shayne relaxed his hands as best as he could, trying instead to center on the sensation of her soft hands on his. Courtney eased herself off the stool and approached Shayne with a certain care. He blinked in confusion. It inadvertently freed the tears beading up at the corners of his eyes that he was hardly even aware were there.

Courtney peeled her hands free from his so she could place them on either of his shoulders. She gave him a watery smile of her own.

“Don’t cry, dude. One of us needs to keep it together.” Courtney joked even as a droplet or two began to streak down her own face. It earned a short laugh from Shayne and he looked away like he was ashamed of breaking down in front of her.

“I’m sorry.” He was conscious of how small his voice sounded at that moment, and so very unlike himself.

“Hey, no,” Courtney squeezed his shoulders, “No, you got nothing to be sorry for, okay?”

Shayne nodded and tried to focus on evening out his breath instead of spiraling out even further.

“C’mere,” Courtney bent over to pull him into another embrace. Shayne shut his eyes and buried his face against her. He tried to ignore the fact he was getting her shirt, hair, and or skin damp with his stupid tears. She was probably doing the same against him anyway.

“We’re gonna be okay, you got that?” Courtney mumbled into his ear and sent a slight shiver down his body. It was absurd. When he said it to himself, he wanted to smack himself. When Courtney said it to him, he believed it.

They stayed like that for a while before Courtney gently pulled away and told Shayne to move to the sofa. He obediently did as she instructed. The tears had stopped flowing, and it was becoming easier to think clearly again. Courtney joined him shortly after setting their warm mugs down on his coffee table. She plopped down on the couch while Jango trotted up to them before lying down by the coffee table.

Shayne’s eyes widened when Courtney swung her legs up and onto his lap and then brought her arms back around his neck. His hands hung in the air for a second before they found their place around her waist and back.

“Is this okay?” Shayne asked. He was fully aware Courtney had initiated this position, but he was always afraid of crossing some line or barrier that he didn’t deserve to cross.

Courtney pulled back to give him a sad smile as her hands settled on his shoulders. Her fingers fiddled and played with his shirt.

“If I’m like… if it’s too much, I can stop. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Shayne was quick to shake his head to shoot that notion down.

“No, it’s not that. This – you’re – this is okay with me,” Shayne laughed a little, “I just want to make sure _you’re_ okay. I don’t want you to regret like… y’know getting all cuddly here.”

“Shayne, I’d never… Don’t think about it too much, man. Just let it happen. We’re… two… good friends helping each other through this tough time.”

The word _friends_ didn’t sit so well with him. He couldn’t explain it at the moment, considering how jumbled his whole mind was even after the tears stopped flowing. Shayne didn’t miss how the word came out of Courtney’s mouth either, as if she didn’t find the word palpable or appropriate. But this wasn’t the time to dwell on that anyway. Shayne instead just let it happen.

Shayne forewent a verbal reply and tugged her back into the tight embrace. Courtney let out a startled gasp that quickly turned into a fond laugh.

“You’re right. We’ll be okay,”

“We got each other’s backs, frog arms.”

Shayne made a face at that nickname that refused to die. He held Courtney tight anyway. She made it easy. She made surviving this whole ordeal believable with her gentle voice and soft embrace. He must have been crazy to think he was going to be doing all the consoling and comforting tonight. This was all so new to him. He hadn’t been in a serious relationship for years. It had been years since a woman held him like Courtney was right now. It sent a funny feeling up from his stomach and throughout the rest of his body. They could throw the word _friends_ around all they wanted, but friends typically didn’t sit in each other’s laps and hold each other in the dark.

Growing up, showing love and affection was always a touchy subject, pun intended. He always joked with his friends about his father’s rigid demeanor; _good job son, perhaps I will hug you some day!_ When he got into his first, and quite long, serious relationship, physical intimacy was tricky. On the one hand, it was so foreign to him; he often had to consciously relax into his ex’s touch. On the other hand, he began to crave it after living so long without it. Then they broke up and he went years without that kind of human connection. Then here came Courtney who’s been single for months (But he still thinks is too soon) and is hugging him with a fervor he was beginning to think he’d never feel again.

Shayne experimentally grazed the tips of his fingers by the base of her head. Courtney gave a quiet hum, and he could already hear her saying _it’s okay_. He ran his fingers through her hair with a certain delicateness.

“Before you ask, that’s okay too.” Just like clockwork.

Shayne chuckled and continued the soothing motions. His ex was never a big fan of his fingers in her hair; it was a shame because she had really nice hair. He was kind of glad Courtney approved of it.

“That feel good?” His voice came out in a quiet grumble.

“Mhm,” Courtney hummed.

“That’s good,” Shayne said, because he wasn’t sure he was capable of forming a coherent sentence. Thankfully, Courtney seemed to know what to say. She pulled back enough to look at him. Their faces were inches away.

“You know what I think we should do?”

Shayne had the fleeting urge to press a chaste kiss to her lips because this woman was too damn beautiful for her own good. But of course, he didn’t do or say that. He respected her boundaries (and was far too chickenshit).

“Uhh… what’s that?” Shayne said quite eloquently.

“Let’s keep making videos during the sixty days. Not just Smosh but like on our personal channels.” Courtney had that look on her face that she got whenever she was pitching a good idea. And this _was_ a good idea.

“Yeah, keep busy and keep creating content. Keep the squad together too so we don’t lose our minds by ourselves.”

“Exactly. I think it’ll be nice. Maybe a couple vlog videos, y’know? Disneyland, fast food drive-throughs…”

The list, and their planning, went on. They’d keep busy together and stay in touch with each other. Shayne wasn’t sure how much time passed until the ideas they fired out began to slow down, and the emotional toll of the whole day caught up to them. They continued giving suggestions and evaluating each other’s plans until their heads were lolling to one side or the other. Courtney had just nearly bumped her head against Shayne’s when he decided that they had enough for one evening.

“I think we should call it a night. I’ll get you stuff for the couch.” Shayne pried Courtney’s legs from his lap so he could stand up. He grabbed his mug of cocoa and took a swig to down what little content remained. Jango was alerted by the activity. He lazily got to his feet and decided to follow Shayne.

Courtney yawned and squeezed his arm appreciatively before he left, “Thanks Shayne.”

Shayne rummaged through his bedroom closet to retrieve a spare pillow and a blanket. Jango stuck his head in like he was curious to see what was going on.

“Silly baby,” Shayne muttered and gave the dog a pat on the head before closing the closet, “Let’s go back to mama.”

When they returned to the living room, Shayne found Courtney wearing the jacket previously draped on the backrest of his couch. He frowned questioningly at her but couldn’t bite back his amused smile.

“How do I look?” Courtney struck a pose.

“Yeah,” Shayne laughed, “Suits you.”

Courtney took the pillow from Shayne and set it down on one side. She unfolded the blanket and laid it across her lap before looking back up at Shayne with an appreciative smile.

Shayne was always bad at this part.

“So, uh – good night?”

Courtney rolled her eyes and scooched over a little. She motioned to the spot next to her and gave him a bashful look.

“Stay with me a bit?”

Shayne could never say no to that face. He nodded and made his way around the sofa to sit next to her. Courtney’s hands moved towards him for a moment before she settled them on her lap.

“You mind?” Was her shy request. Courtney was going to make his heart melt if she kept being so damn cute.

“Course not.” To show her that he meant it, Shayne took the liberty of pulling her closer.

“Good. I was ready to pin you down if you refused,” Courtney said with a matter-of-factly tone. Shayne scoffed.

“Sure.”

“Don’t believe me?”

“Nope.” Shayne popped out the p for emphasis.

He should have expected that Courtney wouldn’t fight fair. Her hands dug into Shayne’s sides and neck to tickle him and he was powerless to stop her. He writhed and tried in vain to swat her hands away.

“No! Court – no, stop!”

“Make me, tough guy!”

Every time he covered one ticklish spot, her swift hands located the next. Before long, Courtney had him in a full mount that would make an MMA fighter proud, and Shayne was flat on his back like an overturned turtle. When she was finally satisfied, she straightened up to look down at her prey. She wore a smug smile and had her hands on her hips. Shayne blew out a defeated breath.

“I surrender. You got me.”

“You bet your ass I got you, Topp.” She smirked.

“I’ll get you next time, Miller.” Shayne narrowed his eyes at her.

“Mhm, you can try Shayne,” Courtney eased off and helped pull him back up to a sitting position, “You can certainly try.”

She just as quickly swung her legs back up on his lap and allowed herself to be pulled closer. Shayne frowned a little when his hands settled around her. It was weird feeling the fabric of his jacket like this. He was used to… well, wearing it. Courtney didn’t miss a thing, apparently; she was quick to notice his fidgeting with the material.

“You best believe I’m stealing this for a while.”

Shayne chuckled at that. He didn’t really mind. A part of him had already resigned to it the moment he saw Courtney bundled up in it. It was cute. Too many things about her were cute.

“You’re lucky you can pull the look off,” Shayne joked.

“Pft. I can pull any look off.” She was right though.

The familiar companionable silence began to settle between them once again as they held each other in the darkness of Shayne’s living room. Shayne was close to drifting off himself when Courtney woke up with a slight jerk and a mumbled apology. He was prepared to extract himself from her tangled limbs when Courtney tugged on his shirt instead and began leaning towards the pillow.

“Let’s lie down.”

Well. That was one way to shake the sleepiness off of him.

Courtney dragged Shayne down to the pillow’s level, nudging at his feet so he’d get them up on to the sofa. She shifted and squirmed until she faced away from him, with her back pressed flat against his chest. Shayne tucked his one arm by the pillow so it wouldn’t fall asleep. The other had nowhere to go other than the obvious spot around her. Courtney wrapped her own arms around his once he set it down.

He was spooning Courtney fucking Miller. The world really was going insane.

“This okay?”

“You mind?”

Oh, were they reading each other’s damn minds now?

They shared a quiet laugh before Courtney gave her answer.

“This is okay, Shayne.”

“Good… this is fine. We’re just two friends spooning.” No sir, no latent feelings resurfacing or anything like that, nope. Not that he was complaining. It felt good, and safe, and right, and he didn’t want to let go any time soon.

Courtney giggled, “Yeah, what, you’ve never spooned Damien before?”

Shayne audibly hummed as if in consideration, eliciting another laugh from Courtney. The laugh was stifled by an unexpected yawn. She shifted a bit to get more comfortable before sighing with satisfaction.

“Maybe this is just _our thing_ now,” Courtney suggested with another yawn. She was probably aware that it wasn’t very helpful. It wasn’t, really, but that didn’t matter. Shayne went with her earlier advice in earnest: Don’t think about it too much; just let it happen.

“Maybe.”

They easily fell into a comfortable slumber like that, tangled in each other’s arms for the first time. The blanket lay forgotten on the floor; Jango took the opportunity to turn it into a nest. There was plenty of warmth between the two of them and Shayne’s stolen jacket anyway. Shayne later woke up and was almost disappointed to not see Courtney’s golden hair in the morning sun. What he saw instead was probably just as good though.

Last night’s mug was filled with a fresh serving of coffee, and Courtney’s soft voice filled the air with a song he didn’t recognize. He sat up, causing the blanket – which he swore they didn’t use – to slide down. Jango padded over from the kitchen to greet him. Shayne could see Courtney in the kitchen with her back turned, turning his toaster on. He rubbed at his eyes to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Courtney looked like she belonged here. It made his heart ache.

Shayne later learned she was trying to return the favor for the last time he cooked breakfast at her place. It was such a sweet gesture; he hoped his flushed cheeks weren’t that obvious. The morning flew past them quicker than expected. They ate breakfast, went to the gym, had lunch, and finally split from there. Shayne tried not to think about how well she fit into his routine, and how much he wanted to do it all over again. Then again, thinking about Courtney and their strange _friendship_ meant he wasn’t thinking about being laid-off from Smosh. He wasn’t sure which made his head spin more.

The rest of the weekend rolled by and Monday came. Monday was Goldbergs day. He’d just gotten home from the day’s shooting when the barrage of texts came in. First from Courtney, then Ian, Damien, Keith, Noah, Olivia, Matt, Ryan – he lost track eventually. He checked his email as a few of them instructed and nearly dropped his phone.

No more sixty days. They were laid-off effective immediately.

Shayne grabbed a six-pack from his pantry and headed straight for his now former workplace. Arriving there was a blur, with only a few moments that stood out. It was hard to miss people tossing Defy mugs into the air and smashing them with baseball bats.

Emotions were running high and the _party_ was in full swing. He remembered a few things from that day. He remembered toasting with Keith and getting beer on both of them. He remembered Ian sitting at his desk and trying to finish his script, saying it could still be used some day. He remembered Damien dramatically entering the office with a box of freshly purchased hard liquor. He remembered tightly embracing Courtney in an empty hallway because he had no words in that moment. Neither of them did. They only broke apart when the aforementioned booze-bringer chanced upon them before kicking the office’s door in.

In the evening Shayne checked his phone almost obsessively for any messages from Courtney, but none came. He figured she was taking a minute to grieve their lost jobs alone. He could respect that. The next day, Ian reported that the office’s doors were locked and shut. They were locked out of the channels too. But Ian was confident he could regain access. The man had the makings of a plan. Like the true Smosh Dad that he was, he banded them together in his home.

He was going to fight tooth and nail to get Smosh back. Defy was going up in smoke, and so was the rights to Smosh. It was a matter of getting the right investor now, he explained. He had a friend in business consultancy that was going to help him get his baby back. Ian’s directive was to keep going – not exactly business as usual, but to keep creating and posting content. The fans had to know this wasn’t the end.

They met like that in Ian’s house with increasing frequency. He’d give them updates, then they had their own little writer’s room meetings. They even filmed one or two weird shorts, including Damien’s ridiculous yet hilarious Make A Wish skit. Shayne swore he still smelled like peanut butter until now. Morale was high for some time.

Until it wasn’t.

December crept in with its winter chill and brought with it its fair share of disappointments. It turned out a lot of media investors were very old-school and couldn’t quite grasp the concept of Smosh. Ian’s updates decreased in frequency until he slipped into radio silence. The squad was following Ian’s directive and Courtney’s suggestions as best as they could, but the enthusiasm and the regularity was dropping off. They tried to blame it on the holidays getting busy. It was hard staying hopeful when reality was beating them into submission.

Courtney ended up becoming a regular sight in his home. She stayed over again some time during the first week of the lay-off, and then again that same Friday. A pseudo-routine was forming out of it, and Shayne would be lying if he said it wasn’t one of the few things keeping him sane. He figured it was the same for Courtney. The first few times she stayed over, he tried to extract himself and go to his bed out of some misplaced sense of chivalry or gentlemanliness. It always played out the same way in the end. Courtney would ask him to stay a bit, or to watch one last episode of whatever it was they were watching. Then they fell asleep in each other’s arms like that first night. Eventually, Shayne learned to stop trying to leave. Neither of them wanted him to, so what was the point?

The roles ended up switching as time went on. Jango’s anxious behavior was getting worse. He was okay the first few times, but he began to grow too anxious the more Courtney stayed over at Shayne’s. The poor pup needed more consistency. Shayne was happy to spend the night at Courtney’s instead. He soon found himself staying over about three times a week. The couch was soft, Jango was a sweetheart, Courtney held him the tightest, her gym was nearby – what wasn’t to like?

He also soon found that they did the slightest bit of tiptoeing around their _relationship_. When they filmed a bit at Courtney’s place, Shayne hid his overnight bag in his car so Olivia wouldn’t get too curious of the big duffel. When Ian summoned them (more for a holiday meeting than a business one), Courtney suggested they take two cars instead of one. It was a bit ridiculous, but Shayne was just as guilty as Courtney was. Of what? He didn’t really know.

All he knew was that now wasn’t the time to shake up the status quo they were building. Now wasn’t the time to get caught spooning by your friends and add to the drama. Then again, it would be a welcome distraction from the Defy shutdown. Courtney smacked Shayne when he raised that point one evening.

Jango’s anxiety wasn’t getting any better. The behavioral specialists they took him to explained as much. He did well when Courtney was home, but God forbid she go to the grocery or the gym. Hell, he was starting to act up when Shayne left too, now that he was spending so much time with him. Courtney knew what she had to do, even if it broke her heart. She planned to leave him in Utah with her mom when she went home for the holidays. It was the only foolproof way to ensure the pup got the love and consistency he needed to soothe his anxious heart.

The holidays came and went. Shayne’s family was supportive and understanding. They were sure that he’d either land a new job soon, or that Ian would win Smosh back. Shayne found himself pacing when he got home. Courtney would be getting back from Utah soon and was bound to be devastated. After having dinner, he started preparing two mugs of cocoa. Courtney’s text came in as expected. She couldn’t stand the thought of spending the night in her apartment without Jango for the first time. She was already on the way. Shayne’s shirt was damp that night with her tears, and he held her tighter than he ever held anyone. It was the least he could do.

They spent the next night at Courtney’s place instead, to help ease her into living dog-less for the first time in a while. January was a hard month made harder without Jango. Ian’s radio silence grew in proportion with his impressive beard. Hope was hard to hold onto. Holding onto each other was easier. They had each other throughout the tumultuous month, and that made it bearable. The days bled into each other. The idea of a weekend hardly held meaning without a regular day job (aside from Goldbergs on Mondays).

Courtney pitched the idea of clearing out a little drawer space for Shayne since he was spending so much time with her. He politely declined. Shayne wasn’t afraid of commitment. It just seemed like a step he either wasn’t prepared to take or didn’t know _how_ to take. Shayne wound up packing his overnight bag with more clothes and toiletries instead. Courtney didn’t press him, and he was grateful for it.

It was one of many dumb lines in the sand they seemed to draw. Pointless, arbitrary boundaries that should hold little meaning for people that exclusively slept together on the couch in a mass of entangled limbs. Shayne couldn’t describe his relationship with Courtney. He tried with Damien and it ended up confusing them both. He _could_ describe it by the don’ts and the nos. They didn’t talk about what they were. They didn’t store things in each other’s homes. They didn’t sleep on beds (even if their backs would certainly benefit from it). They didn’t kiss. They didn’t get touchy in public, or around their friends. They learned that the hard way when Noah shot them a knowing look once when Shayne’s hand all too easily settled around her waist while they walked.

Maybe they’d cross the line someday, when things were more stable, and they were back at Smosh where they belonged. He’d have Ian to thank if that day came. For now, he was okay. Not thinking about it too much made it easier.

Shayne remembered when he got that fateful message. It was a lazy February afternoon in Courtney’s home. She was soundly napping with her head in his lap. He had his feet propped up on the coffee table, careful not to knock his cup of tea over. He was playing with his Switch when his phone buzzed. It was a message from Ian in the squad group chat.

**Daddy:** I think I got something serious, you guys. I can’t say much right now, but I’m cautiously optimistic after feeling like shit about this for too long.

Shayne remembered how the excitement got to him. He gently shook Courtney by the shoulder and somehow let the words, “Hey babe,” slip out. Courtney either didn’t notice or didn’t say anything. She took his phone to scan the messages and was quick to match his own excitement.

They didn’t expect to hear from Ian again so soon after he broke radio silence with that message. The next evening, they were cooking pasta together at Shayne’s. Damien told him it sounded like a cozy date. Shayne told him to shut it.

Courtney was getting her hands messy dicing tomatoes when her phone rang.

“Could you get that, _babe_?” Courtney said the last part with an obnoxious sweetness to it. She apparently did hear his slip up yesterday.

Shayne made a face but turned away from the boiling pasta to comply just the same. He tugged the phone free from the back pocket of her jeans with a little difficulty.

“Get looser pants, _hun_.”

“You’re just jealous of my ass, Shayne.” Courtney fired back.

“How could I be when I got this?” He gleefully bumped his rear into hers, causing her knees to bump into the cupboards below the counter.

“Hey!” She laughed, “Answer the thing!”

Shayne finally checked the screen and saw Ian’s name flashing on the display. He felt his stomach summersault. Ian hadn’t called for an update since December. This had to be big.

“Ian?” Shayne placed the man on speakerphone.

“Shayne? What – where’s Courtney?”

“Present!” Courtney called as she resumed her rhythmic knifework.

“Okay… Two birds, one stone, I guess. Three words, guys.” Ian paused for what Shayne could only guess was dramatic flair.

“…Okay? What is it?”

“Are you ready?”

Shayne laughed and shook his head, “Yeah man.”

“Spit it out, Ian!”

“Rhett and Link.”

Shayne looked at Courtney, whose smile was slowly but surely growing as the pieces came together.

“Good Mythical Morning, baby!”

Shayne laughed an almost delirious laugh at the news. He turned and took a few aimless steps away, as if it would help him process things better. Courtney’s arms wrapping around his midsection grounded him back in reality. Then came her soft body pressing against his, and her chin on his shoulder.

“They – they bought Smosh?”

“You better not be pulling our leg, dude.” Courtney chimed in.

“I’m not, don’t worry,” Ian laughed, “We’re drafting the new contract as we speak. Smosh is coming back and freer than ever.”

“I – fuck, man.” Shayne always was the eloquent one.

“Shoot, dude! We gonna have a big announcement?” Courtney asked.

“Already talking with the media guys. We’ll have a countdown timer and everything.” Ian’s excitable voice ringing in from the phone was such a welcome change from the somber voice they’d gotten to know the past few months. Just when they’d nearly lost all hope, Ian found Rhett and Link to save the day.

Things really were going back to normal.

Courtney pressed her lips to Shayne’s cheek to give him a big kiss before letting out a giddy laugh. He felt his brain short circuit for a second.

Well, _most_ things were going back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey, thanks for making it to the end of this chapter! I've had a bit of time on my hands and figured I'd put it to use. Make sure to drop some kudos and tell me what you thought about this chapter in a comment :)   
> I took a slightly different approach here. It's a little heavier on narration (vignettes?), similar to the first chapter. I felt this was the best format to present the mess of the Defy shutdown. I figured it was also the best way to showcase how Shayne and Courtney's relationship snowballed after their first night all tangled up in a couch. I have a few more chapters in mind before I bring this to a close (considering it already sort of *has* a final chapter) since I don't want to have so much filler. As much as possible, each chapter tries to present a milestone in their relationship, the moments leading to it or after it, and all that. But that's enough from me. I'll catch you all at the next update. Have a great day now.


	4. Cloak-and-Dagger Dating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shayne gets set up on a blind date, but can't keep Courtney off his mind the entire night.

Shayne remembered the last time he went on a date.

It wasn’t his idea. He didn’t even realize what was going on until it was too late. If Shayne knew of his brother’s scheme, he would have called it off before it was too late.

“I think the reservation is under Brian Topp.”

“Hm, I have one for Shayne Topp, but no Brian Topp.”

“That’s me. My brother must have put the reservation under my name.”

“All good. I’ve got a table for two this way.”

The waitress began walking off. Shayne squinted at the back of her dark bob cut, which bounced with her steps. Brian told him to meet him and his friends at the Cheesecake Factory at about 7 PM. They were supposed to be a sizeable group. Perhaps whoever took the reservation got the number of seats wrong.

Shayne unclenched his jaw and began to follow the server.

“I think the reservation should be good for like… four or six people.”

The waitress glanced back at Shayne before looking down at her clipboard. She walked at a brisk pace and didn’t seem to intend to stop any time soon. The woman navigated the restaurant with a certain grace. She sidestepped other waiters and avoided near accidents without a break in her stride. Shayne was just struggling to keep up without making anyone spill anything.

They must have walked halfway across the restaurant by the time she craned her head to look at Shayne and answer him.

“I’m sorry, my record here says the reservation was made for two. If you’ve got more people coming, we’d be happy to move you to a bigger table.”

Shayne mulled the words over as the woman came to a stop in front of a simple table set up for two diners. She picked up the small _reserved_ placard before placing her hands behind her back. She looked at Shayne with a slight tilt of her head. Shayne squinted at the table in suspicion.

“Is everything okay, sir? We can get you a bigger table, no problem. I see a… couple of vacancies.” The lady craned her head to scan the other tables.

“I – uhh, I’ll ask my brother if there’s been a change of plans.” Shayne fished his phone out of his pocket.

“For sure. Have a seat and I’ll get you some water while you wait.” The woman flashed him a polite smile and was gone before he knew it.

After a moment’s hesitation, Shayne took a seat at the small table and brought his messages up on his phone. Shayne wasn’t mistaken. Brian said he and “the boys” were on the way about half an hour ago. A few hours before that, he specifically reminded Shayne to be here by seven. Whoever took the reservation must have misheard the number of seats needed.

Unless…

No. He wouldn’t.

…would he?

The sound of polite throat-clearing caught Shayne’s attention. His eyes darted up to the source. A petite woman stood in front of his small table. She wore a nice green dress, and a nicer smile to match it. A pair of glasses rested at the tip of her nose, which was as sharp as the rest of her features. She ran a nervous hand through her dark hair, which cascaded down past her shoulders. Shayne blinked once or twice.

God damnit Brian.

“Hey – uh, Alice, right?” Shayne rose from the chair to greet her.

“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you, Shayne!” Alice reached forward to hug him in greeting before he could extend a handshake. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. That bastard set him up. Shayne’s wide eyes looked ahead vacantly, out of Alice’s sight. He accidentally made eye contact with his bob cut sporting waitress, who gave an uncertain smile.

Shayne sat down before his nervous legs failed him. His one knee bounced at an erratic pace as he placed his hands on the table in an effort not to fidget. Alice took her seat across from him; she still wore that award-winning smile on her features. She was cute. Shayne had to admit that.

But he specifically said he wasn’t interested in going on a date with her.

“I have to admit, I’m a little surprised you recognized me,” Alice said. She gave their waitress a grateful nod as her glass was filled up.

“Excuse me, will you still be needing that larger table, sir?”

Shayne’s mouth opened and closed for a second before the answer came out.

“Uh, no – no thank you.”

“Alright. I’ll be back when you’re ready.”

Shayne watched their waitress’ departure. He wished she stuck around a little longer. Any distraction was sorely appreciated.

“Yeah – I – I, uhh,” Shayne let out a short, nervous laugh, “Brian really vouched for you.”

Alice placed a hand on her chest and let out a little laugh of her own, “Really? Gosh, I hope he wasn’t too pushy. I know he – we sort of ambushed you with this. In my defense, it was his idea.”

A blind date was definitely the kind of shit Brian would pull on him.

“Yeah, you guys kinda bait-and-switched me here,” Shayne gave a good-natured smile.

Alice grimaced, and turned a shade pinker.

“But – I mean – don’t get me wrong. It’s okay,” Shayne laughed the lie out, hoping to high heavens he was coming off as sincere.

“The way Brian put it, it would do you a lot of good to have a nice date night.”

Shayne sipped his water to buy himself some time. Brian was in town, and all week he’d been bugging Shayne to try going out with Alice. Alice was a good friend of Brian’s. Shayne had, according to Brian, been single for far too long, and needed to get back out there. Shayne spent the week brushing off Brian’s insistence, which apparently led him to subterfuge and this surprise blind date.

After the third or fourth time Brian showed him Alice’s Bumble profile (and said he already showed Shayne’s profile to her), he asked Shayne why he was so adamantly against giving her a shot on a date. Was Alice not his type? Shayne wasn’t sure he had a type, and Alice seemed nice, so he couldn’t answer that definitively. So then Brian asked him if there was another girl he was pining after. At the time, Shayne couldn’t articulately describe his relationship with Courtney. He could barely explain it to Damien, what more to his brother? I have this friend, I buy her granola bars, she buys me yogurt cups, we hang out nearly every weekend and cuddle on the couch, but we’re not in a relationship, it’s very platonic and it’s for the better, no hidden feelings here – no sir. Ridiculous.

So, Shayne said no, there wasn’t another girl. He used the excuse that he was too busy. He had school, Smosh, Goldbergs, the gym. There was just no time. Brian rolled his eyes and dropped it. Or at least, Shayne _thought_ he dropped it. And here they were now. Shayne put the glass of water down and looked back up at Alice, who was scanning the menu and pointedly avoiding his gaze.

“Brian’s probably right,” Shayne broke the silence and prompted Alice to look back up at him, “A date night doesn’t sound so bad.”

There was no malice or ill intent from either Alice or Brian. Brian just wanted him to be happy and Alice wanted to help with that. It was just one date. They didn’t have to go on another. If anything, Shayne wanted Alice to have a good time, just because it felt like the right thing to do. He’d just be honest with her at the end if she expressed interest in going on a second date. There was someone else he would much rather go on a date with, but that wasn’t any excuse to be a shitty date to Alice.

“Been so busy lately, so it’s good to just… unwind, I guess.” Shayne added.

To his relief, Alice beamed at him and said, “Yeah, you got Smosh, your school, your filming, you look like you go to the gym too, is there anything you don’t do?”

“Go on dates, apparently, but you and Brian really worked to change that.” Shayne offered a smile to show he was joking.

Alice laughed and took his jab in stride. “Sorry again, this cloak-and-dagger dating is all very new to me too, I assure you.”

“Oh, so you _don’t_ just blind date ambush all your prey?”

Alice waved a hand to dismiss him with a grin, “Oh stop. Do you know what you’re getting yet?”

They fell into easy conversation from there. Shayne decided he was long overdue for a carb-induced coma, so they settled on splitting an appetizer and later dessert. He helped himself to a big serving of pasta for his main course. Alice similarly ordered spaghetti but needed a takeout box for her leftovers.

Shayne learned a fair bit about her. She was from Vermont but left for college; she couldn’t wait to get away from the cold. Her father’s a chef, and she became a picky eater because of it. Her mother’s an engineer and was very supportive of Alice’s own career choice. Alice worked as a graphic designer for a small start-up firm, with a kind boss who always put the team first (Shayne was reminded of Ian). She owned a golden retriever named Jude; she seemed like a very good girl judging by the pictures. Alice hiked on the weekends with her friends – the one thing she truly brought with her from Vermont, she says.

Alice was nicer than he anticipated. He liked her more than he thought he would. She was easy-going and didn’t take things too seriously. The banter flowed as well as he could hope it would. Shayne still internally winced before dropping any joke or quip. He was always overtly aware of how much of a goof he could come off as. He was never too keen on leaving that as a first impression.

But Alice was no Courtney.

Shayne did his absolute best not to compare them, because to do so would be a dick move; nobody liked being compared to someone else, especially on a date. But try as he might, the thoughts slipped through the cracks. They were different things. Some little, some major. It distracted him throughout the night. He did his best to engage Alice, particularly by keeping the conversation steered towards her.

Shayne noticed how she dabbed her mouth with a napkin in between every bite. Alice caught his stare and explained her father’s reverence for food and dining. Shayne nodded along and prompted her to talk more about that, while thinking instead of Courtney’s sauce-smeared lips that he was often tempted to wipe clean with his own.

They were served red wine. Shayne wasn’t so big on the stuff, but he toasted Alice’s goblet nevertheless. Her chef of a father knew what wine to pair with any dish, and it was something she picked up on. Shayne respected that. To her credit, the wine went swimmingly with the pasta. Shayne closed his eyes as he mulled the flavor of the wine over. He thought of chilled beer, hot pizza, and Courtney’s warm legs propped up on his lap.

As the wine flowed, Alice let out a hiccup and turned beet red. It was cute how embarrassed she got, and Shayne was sure to playfully tease her for that. Alice called him a bully, and he got a laugh out of that, but apologized just the same. He thought of Courtney and her unashamed burps. Shayne remembered how scandalized he was the first time Courtney put everyone else’s burps to shame. It was so endearing, (but still gross) Shayne could never put his finger on it.

At one point, Alice extended her phone to Shayne to look at her pictures of Jude. She looked like an absolute sweetheart, and Shayne expressed how she must make the best cuddle buddy. Alice explained that pets were never allowed on the furniture growing up, and that was another thing she ended up adopting. Shayne nodded in understanding and felt a tug at his heartstrings at the memory of Jango’s tail thumping excitedly on the sofa. He was always so content to sit with Courtney. Getting to snuggle up next to both him and Courtney seemed like a dream come true to Jango. Shayne missed that dog more than he thought he would.

The banter was surprisingly fluid, but Alice had a certain reservation about her. She just wouldn’t jab back at him or poke fun at him, despite him doing so to her. After the third time she didn’t take his bait, Shayne went ahead and changed the topic before the silence went on. He asked Alice to tell him more about her mother, even as he thought of how Courtney didn’t fail to give him shit and poke back at him with that twinkle in her eye.

Alice talked about her job at the start-up. She was passionate, to say the least; Shayne found it admirable. He found himself looking into her eyes as she went on about the work she did, and the clients they took. Alice had chocolate brown eyes and had the animated facial expressions one would expect from a creative person. Shayne thought of Courtney’s eyes. For a long time, he was under the impression they were grey. He remembered when he realized he was mistaken. They just finished queuing up that stand-up special after watching Hereditary. Courtney was all but wrapped around his arm, and the thin haze of alcohol was wearing off. Shayne looked at her then and found himself admiring her in the dim light of her living room. Her eyes were green emeralds that had an alluring shine in them. He could swear they were greenest when she smiled at him.

Dessert was heavenly, and the serving was just right for two people. They split the bill before heading to the counter to see what was available for takeout. Alice explained that she wanted to bring something home for her roommates. Shayne lagged a little behind as Alice led the way to the counter. He idly looked at her long, dark hair, which was beautiful in its own right. Shayne blinked, and he could see Courtney’s short, golden blonde hair. It was the most breathtaking in the morning light, when he could freely run his hands through her hair as she slowly worked her way up to consciousness. It was just as stunning in the golden hour of the afternoon, when they got home from work and got ready to settle into their Friday night routine. Courtney’s hair would glow in the warm lighting in this restaurant, and Shayne knew he’d have to do his best to keep his hands to himself.

When they got to the counter, they peered together at the well-stocked shelves of cheesecakes. Shayne was quick to settle on a slice of lemon cheesecake that he knew Courtney would love. Alice took a moment to hem and haw. She had two roommates, so there was a little more deliberation to be done. Alice’s hand idly settled on Shayne’s back, and he tried not to physically react to the unexpected contact. Her hand snaked across his back to settle by his hip. Shayne cautiously put his hand on her shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze. She was quite small in stature – shorter than him by quite a bit.

Shayne never felt secure over his height. He hated being one of the shorter guys. It didn’t help that most girls liked tall guys. Courtney was just an inch or two shorter than him, and he never expected to find that so attractive. Being a similar height as Courtney made holding each other just feel all the more… right. They melted into each other like they were forged as two pieces of one whole. Not to mention Courtney was tall enough to make him the little spoon, which totally did not happen, and nobody can prove otherwise.

Before long, they were in Shayne’s car, on the way to Alice’s apartment to drop her off. It was late, and as Shayne told her, nobody should be hailing an Uber alone at this hour. Alice sat in silence in his passenger seat after giving directions. The drive would be about fifteen minutes long, if his GPS was right.

Shayne spared Alice a glance when they stopped at a red light. She was looking out the window. Shayne suspected she was just tired, so he returned his eyes to the road. His mind wandered back to Courtney. He never got to go out with her much. They were too conscious of being seen by fans to go out at any sizeable restaurant. They didn’t need the shippers to start speculating any more than they already were, after all. The only public places they dared go to together were the gym, and the small Indian hole-in-the-wall place near the gym, and the occasional grocery. It would be nice to take her out. Maybe they’d get there someday if he ever convinced himself the world wouldn’t fall apart if he came clean to Courtney. But who was he kidding? He didn’t have the balls to do that. The current limbo they existed in meant too much to him to risk that.

The car pulled into a vacant parking slot by Alice’s building. Shayne set the handbrake in place and turned his attention to Alice. She wore an expression he couldn’t quite place.

“Well, Shayne, it’s been a pleasure.”

“Yeah, I had a good time tonight.”

Alice bit her lip and looked down for a moment. Her raven hair cascaded down her face before she swept it back to give him a melancholic smile, “I’m not seeing you for a second date, am I?”

Fuck. He wasn’t good at this part.

“It’s – I,” Shayne let out a sigh, “Listen, I had a great time, Alice. You’re funny, you’re nice…”

Alice leaned back against the seat’s headrest. She offered Shayne a more genuine smile.

“But?”

Shayne told himself he was going to be honest when it came to it, so that’s what he was going to do. Alice was a nice girl and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but she also deserved the truth. He felt Alice’s hand on his shoulder before he could speak up.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Alice gave him a gentle squeeze in a show of support. She raised a sly eyebrow at him and asked, “You must be crazy about her, hm?”

Shayne winced. He was genuinely trying not to be such an open, distracted, lovesick book. Shayne shook his head and huffed out a laugh. He was surprised when Alice’s giggle filled the car.

“What, is it that obvious?”

“You spent half the date across from me and the other half in your head, Shayne.” There was no anger, no accusation in her tone. It was very matter-of-factly. Almost teasing.

Shayne managed out an embarrassed chuckle. There was a rumble in his gut, a manifestation of the guilt for not being more present, or just clearing the air right off at the start. Shayne was grateful too. Not many people would react the way Alice was right now. She kept her chin up and showed little sign of being upset at his apparent bumbling date behavior. Alice was a good person. Shayne hoped she would find someone that treated her right. Maybe he could set her up with Damien…

“I’m sorry, Alice – really, I didn’t mean to-”

Alice cut him off with the wave of a hand as she interjected, “It’s okay – I had a good time, you had a good time too, right? That’s all that matters.”

And she was right. Things went well, all things considered.

“I’m glad you had a good time.” Shayne smiled.

“Shayne, you’re too sweet. Is she as sweet as you?”

This lady wasn’t pulling any punches. Shayne felt the heat creep up to his face and he let out a nervous laugh. Shayne’s eyes avoided Alice’s, but his car was small, and there wasn’t much else to look at. When he risked a glance back at her, she was grinning at him like a hyena.

“When my grocery ran out of my favorite brand of yogurt, she started stockpiling the stuff for me. It was just – it blew me away. It was such a sweet, simple gesture, and I’ll never forget the first time she did it. She still does it too!” The words spilled out of his grinning mouth quite similarly to when he relayed the same information to Damien some time ago.

“She sounds lovely,” Alice’s face scrunched into a contemplative frown as she added, “What are you doing here if you’ve got someone like her? Your brother said you were, and I quote ‘painfully single.’”

“I… don’t know what that’s supposed to mean,” Shayne shook his head to clear it of his brother’s choice of words, “But to answer your question, it’s…”

Jesus. Was he about to say _it’s complicated_?

“Tell her how you feel, Shayne. If you can’t tell her because _it’s complicated_ , at least show her, okay?”

Shayne raised his eyebrows at that. There were many ways he did not expect this night to go, but to receive relationship advice from his surprise blind date was definitely taking the cake.

“Show her, huh?”

“Take it slow if you have to, but… be present, you know? Show her you’re there and you’re serious about her.” Alice motioned with her hands as she spoke in that very animated way of hers.

“Yeah… Yeah, I can do that.” Shayne nodded after a beat.

“Good,” Alice beamed, “You better keep me posted. I’m invested in you and yogurt girl’s story now.”

Shayne cringed at the name she assigned Courtney. She wasn’t wrong though. He’d gotten her that souvenir with a similar title, after all. It was somehow fitting.

“I’ll let you know if anything happens.” Shayne gave a thumbs up.

“Looking forward to it. Now,” Alice released her seatbelt, “I should be on my way. Thanks again for the ride.”

“Nah, it’s nothing. Thanks for… y’know – being really cool about all this.” Shayne winced a little at his eloquent command of the English language whenever his nerves were shot.

“Really cool, huh?” Alice laughed, “You were pretty cool too, Shayne. Give yourself some credit. I’ll see you around, okay?”

They met in the middle for a friendly, parting hug before Alice exited the car. Shayne watched her go, and made sure she entered the apartment building safely before releasing the handbrake and preparing to leave. Then he pulled it back up. A thought came over him. He craned his head to get a better view of the street sign. He was a short drive away from Courtney’s place. Shayne pulled his phone up and saw it was nearly eleven. She was probably still awake, but he texted her just the same to check.

**Shayne:** Hey, you up?

Her reply was swift, and it put a smile on his face.

**Cortknee:** Yep yep. Done with your brother’s thing?

Crap. Shayne had earlier told her that he might not come over because he was catching dinner with his brother, and it may extend until late. How was he going to tell her he just came from a blind date?

**Shayne:** I’m free now. I got you some cheesecake.

He quickly backed out of their messages to check if Damien was up. Shayne knew what he had to do. He was going to be honest with her. But, hearing his confidante’s assurance and encouragement would hopefully get his leg to stop anxiously bobbing up and down at least. Shayne was in luck; Damien was online.

**Cortknee:** Boi, you really know the way into a girl’s heart, huh?

Shayne grinned at his phone as he typed back his reply.

**Shayne:** Just yours. ;)

**Cortknee:** Shut up. Get your dumb butt over here already.

**Shayne:** Be there soon.

Shayne then rang up Damien and put his phone on speaker. He’d just pulled out of the parking lot and into the road when Damien picked up.

“Hey, hey, bit late for a booty call, isn’t it?”

Shayne barked out a laugh and was quickly joined by Damien on the other end.

“You’re insane.”

“And you’re making me talk to you when I could be focusing on Monster Hunter.”

He shook his head and grinned. Just hearing Damien give him shit was putting his mind at ease.

“So, what’s up? Everything good?” Damien followed up in a more serious tone.

“Yeah, guess what?” Shayne leaned his head back as he slowly depressed the brakes at the upcoming traffic light.

“You finally told Courtney you love her?”

Shayne’s stomach flipped at the mention of the L-bomb. Damien was convinced that the two were madly in love with each other. Shayne felt he was nowhere near ready for that sort of talk. After Damien’s initial goofs of how he was heartbroken that Shayne was picking Courtney over him, he proved to be the dependable rock Shayne needed. Damien staunchly advocated for Shayne to just be honest with Courtney. Shayne was kidding himself if he said he didn’t have feelings for Courtney.

Of course, Shayne still had a plethora of excuses ready whenever Damien brought it up. Shayne told them to himself regularly enough; telling Damien was just as easy. Except Damien bit back. Shayne would say he didn’t want to risk ruining what they have. Damien would say what they had was special and was worth the risk. Shayne would say Courtney’s still too fresh from a breakup. Damien would remind him it’s already been like six months. Shayne would say Courtney could do better than him anyway. Damien reminded him that Courtney cuddled him every weekend, and not someone _better_. Shayne would say it was taboo to date your co-workers. Damien reminded Shayne their workplace was as far from traditional as they could get. Shayne, running out of excuses, would tell Damien he didn’t want to break the contract. Damien would then tell Shayne he went over the contract again just for him. He could confirm no such provision of dating co-workers existed.

“No, nothing like that,” Shayne finally replied. He took a deep breath and added, “Brian set me up on a blind date. I didn’t see it coming.”

The idle clacking of Damien’s keyboard paused. Shayne could picture his wide eyes and mouth slightly agape.

“Oh shit – what – how did it go?”

“It went…” Shayne chuckled a little, “It went _kind of_ well, actually? She’s nice, I think you’d like her.”

“Buuuut?”

“I mean – I didn’t ask for this. The whole time, I couldn’t stop thinking about Courtney. I didn’t even mean to. Like… I didn’t want to be a shitty person, you know? This nice girl was set up on a date with me, and I owed her that at least – to be a good date, right?”

Shayne pressed down on the gas as the lights turned green, and Damien gave his affirmative hum.

“She was just everywhere, man.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything Alice did, everything she didn’t do – it’s like I could see Courtney in it all. The way she eats, her eyes, her hair, how she jokes… I wasn’t fantasizing about having Court there and not Alice, but…”

Shayne sighed, and let his head thud back into the seat’s headrest once more.

“I get it, man. How did Alice take it?”

The Civic eased around a corner, bringing Shayne ever closer to Courtney’s apartment. It wouldn’t be long now.

“Pretty well. She was really mature about it, and apparently could tell I was half-daydreaming the entire time. She told me if I couldn’t tell Courtney how I feel-”

“Because you’re chickenshit.”

“- then I should _show_ her. Be present for her and show her I’m serious. I think it’s… sound advice.”

Shayne listened to Damien’s low, contemplative hum.

“You plan to tell Courtney about your blind date?”

A familiar grumble coursed through Shayne’s gut. He really didn’t like it, but it was the right thing to do.

“I gotta. I don’t want to hide anything from her. I just don’t know how she’ll take it. I know it’s-” Shayne grunted at the term, “ _It’s complicated_. We never said we can’t date other people, since – well, you know, we _aren’t_ dating. But I don’t want to date other people. I don’t exactly want her to either, but I don’t have the right to tell her that. I’m not her boyfriend.”

“Look, Shayne, I’m sure Courtney feels the same way. If everything you’ve told me so far is true, then there’s no way she wants to be in the dating pool either.”

“Maybe,” Shayne’s inner pessimist sighed.

“You didn’t plan that date, dude. Courtney’s a big girl, she’ll understand the context if you’re honest with her. It’ll be fine. You two will be all snuggles before you know it.”

Courtney’s apartment building towered overhead as Shayne pulled into a vacant parking slot.

“I hope you’re right, man.”

“You know I am.” The confidence in Damien’s voice was soothing. Shayne drew strength from that. All was going to be well. Damien was psychic after all. If he said Courtney would be understanding, then Courtney would sure as hell be understanding.

“Thanks, Damien. I needed this.” Shayne said as he pulled the keys out of the ignition. They exchanged their goodbyes shortly thereafter and Shayne retrieved the cheesecake from the backseat. After locking his car, he hightailed it into the building and made his way up to Courtney’s floor.

Shayne rapped his knuckles on her front door before he could hesitate and overthink anything else. He didn’t have to wait long before the door opened to reveal Courtney. She wore an oversized black sweater that was unmistakably one of his, along with a pair of too-short shorts. Shayne did his best not to stare. He turned his attention instead to her face. She beamed at him like a flower in bloom, and her tied up hair just added to the image. Her makeup had long since been washed off, but she was just as stunning as ever. Courtney’s effortless beauty never failed to make Shayne’s throat dry.

“Hey boo,” Courtney tilted her head to invite him in. Shayne’s face scrunched up in response to the name. He honestly didn’t know where they stood on pet names. It seemed like every time one of them used one, it was done ironically, usually to tease or harass each other. There were the occasional slips when they sounded a little too genuine, but neither of them tended to acknowledge those instances.

“Hey,” Shayne shook off the pet name before pulling Courtney in for a big hug. She let out a little surprised yelp, which quickly turned into a contented hum as she sunk into the embrace. Shayne closed his eyes and savored it all. Courtney’s lovely figure pressed against him. Her arms tightly wound around him. Her blonde hair tickling his face. This was home.

Courtney pulled away first to lead him over to the couch. Shayne idly noted how his green flannel jacket was draped over the back of her sofa. They took their seats, and Courtney eagerly began to open the box.

“Thanks for the takeout, dude.” She flashed him a toothy smile before she continued struggling with the tape.

“Don’t mention it.” Shayne smiled.

Shayne wasn’t sure how to go about it. There was no game plan other than to just spit it out and wing it. He figured if he sat around in his car and thought things through, it would’ve just driven his anxiety through the roof.

Courtney succeeded in opening the box. She licked some cream off her finger before sinking the plastic fork into the dessert. She turned to Shayne and motioned for him to open his mouth. Shayne hoped the dim lighting was enough to hide the flush in his cheeks. He chuckled and complied, allowing Courtney to slide the fork into his mouth before she helped herself.

“So, how’s your brother? You guys have a good time?” Courtney nudged him gently with her knee.

He was a little glad she asked. It gave him a starting point.

“Yeah, about that…” Shayne straightened up a little and clasped his hands together, “He didn’t show up. He set me up on a blind date.”

Courtney paused mid-bite. Her eyes darted to Shayne, and he wished he could melt into the couch to escape this. Courtney took the moment to chew, swallow, and wipe her mouth before nodding. She frowned at first but set her expression back into a more neutral one. She crossed her arms and leaned back on the sofa, eyes focused on the discarded takeout box like it was the most interesting thing in the room.

“Oh?”

Shayne didn’t miss the tiniest waver in her voice.

“Well, I didn’t want to be there. Brian was trying to set it up for a few days now, and I kept saying no. He had to trick me into it.”

Courtney nodded again and gave a half shrug.

“Did you like her?”

“She was nice, but I wasn’t feeling it. She picked up on that too, because by the time it was over, she figured I didn’t want to see her for a second date.”

“Oh,” Courtney said again. It was different from the last. Less distant.

“Yeah, I guess I just wanted to… be a gentleman or something by trying to be a good date, even if I wasn’t into her.”

“Did you let her off nicely?” Courtney finally turned to look back at him. Shayne suppressed a sigh of relief.

“Hell, she was nicer about it than I deserved. She said I spent half the night across her and the other half in my head.”

It got a soft chuckle from Courtney.

“In your head, huh? What’s going on in that frog brain?”

Shayne gave a shy smile. He looked straight into those emerald eyes of hers when he answered, “Just thinkin’ about someone else, you know?”

The glimmer in Courtney’s eyes told him she caught his meaning. The blush of her cheeks told him just as much. A quiet laugh escaped her lips, and she looked away briefly to regain her composure. When she looked back at Shayne, the corner of her lip was quirked up in mischief.

“Jeez, no wonder she rejected your daydreaming ass.” Courtney never missed a beat.

He rolled his eyes, but agreed just the same, “Yeah, I made for a pretty spaced out date.”

“Did you two have a good time?”

Shayne felt his heart swell at the genuine interest and care in her voice, now that any doubt that formed had been banished. He watched her fondly as she resumed digging into the cheesecake. They were okay. Of course they were okay. Courtney was a mature girl, even if how they acted on set starkly contrasted it.

“Yeah. She was nice. I’m toying with the idea of setting her up with Damien instead of a loser like me.”

Courtney’s amused giggle was music to his ears. She set the fork down to look back at Shayne. There was that damn cream at the corner of her mouth again. If she kept this up, he swore he was going to kiss her (he was too chickenshit though).

It was easy from there. Courtney closed the distance between them so she was flushed against his side before she resumed working away at the cheesecake. She asked about the date, now that her curiosity was piqued and her unease was sedated. Shayne obliged as honestly as he could. He told Courtney about Alice’s family, her dog, her clean eating habits – that got a laugh out of Courtney – her job, nearly everything from earlier that night. Courtney agreed that Alice sounded nice; maybe they’d work together to set her up with Damien.

Courtney had a particularly active day on set earlier; she eventually scooted back a little so she could properly sprawl out on the couch. She laid her head back against the pillow by the couch’s armrest and plopped her feet down on Shayne’s lap. They were quiet for a while, attention turned towards Courtney’s TV. The stint of silence gave Shayne the opportunity to admire Courtney in the dim light he’d grown so familiar with.

It was so unmistakable now how Courtney was the only woman on his mind anymore. Shayne remembered the tough first few weeks when Smosh was back in full force. It had been a month since Rhett and Link saved Smosh, but Shayne was still getting used to the new routine. After living with and literally sleeping beside Courtney for days at a time for entire months on end, they were suddenly back to once a week meet ups. It was jarring. Shayne didn’t sleep well in his own bed on the weekdays. His body knew it belonged on Courtney’s sofa, tangled up with her own body.

Since they were so busy now, they couldn’t afford to sleep over at each other’s places so often anymore. It didn’t help that they were still too stubborn to stash clothes and essentials in each other’s homes. The only exception would be the clothes Courtney stole, mostly sweaters and jackets. Nowadays, they just spent the weekends together. One or the other would come over on Friday for dinner and the occasional drink. They’d watch whatever on TV and eventually fall asleep together. If they were at Shayne’s, they’d boot up a couch co-op game and play that into the wee hours. In the morning, they went to the gym together. After freshening up, they grabbed lunch nearby then split from there, unless they were meeting up with the squad.

The date with Alice only served to reinforce what he already knew. He truly didn’t want to start anything with anyone else when he had _this_. Sure, there was no clear definition of what they were, and they drew these pointless lines they refused to cross, but that wasn’t so bad. He was enjoying himself, and he was fairly sure Courtney was as well. Shayne was still, as Courtney says, just letting it happen.

Shayne retrieved his phone from his pocket and got to work doing what he should’ve done a long time ago. Courtney noticed the movement and prodded his stomach with her foot.

“Whatcha doin’?”

Shayne navigated through the phone’s interface as he spoke, “Deleting my Bumble. I think this dating stuff isn’t for me, y’know? Besides…”

He trailed off for a moment as he struggled to navigate to the correct menu, “Brian used my Bumble to lure Alice in. Better to take that ammunition away from him.”

Courtney gave a thoughtful hum and fell silent as she watched Shayne battle with technology. She stifled a yawn with her hand and shifted a little to get comfortable.

“That’s a good idea. Been meaning to do that for a while now too.” It was Courtney’s turn to reach for her phone on the coffee table.

Shayne confirmed the app’s deletion with a satisfying tap. He turned to Courtney, “I thought you didn’t have Bumble?”

“Nah, I meant my Tinder. Haven’t opened it up in like, months, and I don’t really plan to either,” Courtney explained, and it was her turn to frown at her phone as she looked for the right menu.

Shayne tried to control the smile that was inching its way up his face, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Courtney pressed the final button and set her phone back down. She gave him that beautiful smile of hers, “I’m pretty content where I am now.”

She pushed herself back up to a sitting position just so she could reach Shayne. Courtney shut the TV off and tugged on his shirt before starting to recline back into the pillow.

“C’mon, let’s lie down. I’m pooped.”

Shayne got comfortable nestled up against Courtney, “I hear ya. Being ambushed with a blind date takes a toll on you.”

“Shut up,” Courtney giggled, and lightly slapped at his arm that wrapped around her waist. The sound quickly turned into a satisfied sigh when Shayne placed a little kiss on her cheek.

Kissing was very new territory for them. Lips were still a big and obvious no-no, but this was fine, albeit still infrequent. It was quickly becoming one of Shayne’s favorite things in the whole world.

Courtney gave his arm a squeeze, “I’m glad you decided to stop by tonight.”

The sentiment was almost amusing to Shayne, because he couldn’t imagine a scenario where he would’ve gone anywhere else.

Shayne gently pressed his face into the back of Courtney’s head with a satisfied smile. His fingers ghosted over her exposed midriff as the sweater rode up by the slightest bit. Courtney squirmed and made a noise to protest the ticklish gesture.

“Me too.”

He was exactly where he was supposed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Be sure to drop some kudos and leave a comment if you like what you've read :) This was a tougher one to write. I scrapped it and rewrote the whole chapter at least once because I wasn't happy with how I wrote Alice. I like her. Do you like Alice? I wanted to make a good foil for Courtney that would make Shayne think a bunch and cement his current mindset. At the same time she needed to be real and enjoyable. It took a couple of tries to get her how I wanted. But I digress, thanks again for reading this little chapter. I suspect this story may have 1 or 2 chapters left to go since I've progressed their relationship closer and closer to how I started them in Crossing The Line. We shall see. I'll catch you guys in the next chapter. Have a wonderful day!


	5. Smosh Summer Sunburns and Bruises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Courtney and Shayne retire in his home in the evening after a long, and somewhat painful week of Smosh Summer Games.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll preface this by saying that while the ending doesn't get *explicit*, it does get a bit suggestive. Be warned, I guess.

Courtney remembered the first time she really got to _touch_ Shayne.

And it wasn’t as lewd as it sounded (or as lewd as she wanted).

Smosh Summer Games: Apocalypse’s filming had come to a close. The belly flop competition was a splashing success. Courtney had prided herself in her flop. But there was a certain irony to how Shayne got the worst flop, then subsequently bested her with his Courtney Freaking Miller act. Not that she minded. Shayne was hilarious, and she took home the Most Epic Moment award, and he the LVP award. There was no shortage of teasing him over that on the ride home. All in all, it was a great day to end a great Summer Games.

There were two exceptions:

Courtney’s bruised legs fucking _hurt_. She was never one to be prissy when it came to pain, but having your legs riddled by automatic paintball fire was a whole different story. It had been a day or two since the paintball challenge, and the bruises were turning a _lovely_ shade of purple and blue.

Then, there was Shayne’s sunburned body – mostly his back and shoulders. He forgot to pack his sunscreen, and upon seeing how the venue was somewhat shaded, said he’d probably be fine. He was not fine.

After stopping once for dinner, the van they rented came to a stop at the Smoffice, allowing everyone to disembark and take their respective vehicles home. Courtney and Shayne agreed beforehand to just crash at his place tonight.

“Have a good night, you two!” Came Ian’s teasing voice. Naturally, there was no shortage of teasing from their friends when they walked to his car together. Courtney flipped him off without turning back to face him. It earned a round of laughter from the rest of the squad.

Most of their friends and co-workers inevitably became aware of how close they’d gotten. While they didn’t know the specifics, they were aware that Shayne and Courtney crashed at each other’s apartments fairly regularly. It was unavoidable. Too many times Courtney showed up to work wearing one of Shayne’s jackets. Too many times they were invited to an impromptu get-together, and they had to travel to the venue together. Too many times Shayne’s hand would subconsciously settle on Courtney’s back when they stood close to one another. Their friends had their suspicions, but they didn’t know what went on behind closed doors.

Courtney buckled up in his passenger seat, wincing a little as her sensitive skin made contact with the seat. She was wearing a tank top and some shorts, because she felt wearing any pants-like clothing would kill her. Courtney watched Shayne clamber into the driver’s seat. His loose tie dye shirt swayed as he moved, and Courtney didn’t miss the grimace on his face.

Courtney didn’t blame him. Either he wore a tight-fitting shirt and felt it press against his burned skin, or a loose one that would just brush against it anyway. It was a lose-lose, but that’s what he got for declining her offer for sunscreen because it was “somewhat shaded.” That wasn’t to say Courtney was enjoying the schadenfreude, because she just wanted to hug and kiss the poor boy until that grimace went away. Doing that could wait. The thought caused her to look away from Shayne before he could notice her staring. Come to think of it, she did have some lotion that could help soothe the burn. She just needed to retrieve it from her bag.

Shayne turned the engine on and leaned back into his seat. He let out a long sigh.

“My skin. Is. On fire.”

Courtney knew she shouldn’t giggle, but she did anyway. How could she not? He shot her a look meant to show his annoyance with her, but the twitch at the corner of his lips was a dead giveaway. Shayne knew it too, because he just smiled instead and huffed a laugh out.

“How are the legs?” Shayne asked once they were on the road.

Courtney blew out some air and shook her head, “If I could shoot Wes with his stupid machinegun, I would.”

It was Shayne’s turn to laugh at her expense. Courtney gave him a light smack on the arm for it.

“I think I got something for the bruising in my first aid kit at home.” Shayne added.

“I can’t imagine that someone like you has a first aid kit.”

“I am a responsible adult, Courtney,” Shayne declared with mock-offense, “I am! A big! Boy!”

“You’re an overgrown man-child that walks like you’re carrying a suitcase under each arm.” Courtney grinned.

Shayne disguised his laugh (poorly) with a scoff and the shake of his head, “ _Excuse you!_ I can’t help having big lats!”

Courtney bit her lip at that and allowed herself to (not so) subtly admire Shayne’s figure. Even with the loose shirt, she could see his cut form. She’d been thinking about that way too often recently. Whether it was his arms in the sleeveless Toxicitea shirts, or his full glorious topless form on some of his Try Not To Laugh bits – Courtney couldn’t resist getting an eyeful. She had to go out of her way not to ogle him after the first one or two times she was caught.

Olivia nudging her with her elbow and giving her that expression that said “ _Giiiiiiirl_ ,” were enough to get her to cool it. Mostly. Keith and Noah giggling like teenage girls and telling Courtney not to be a perv made her realize she might have a problem. Ian telling her in that teasing tone that he’d report her to HR was when she realized she was hopeless.

“Yeah, enjoying the view, Miller? Like what you see?” The hint of pink on Shayne’s face was the only thing that betrayed his front of cool confidence.

Courtney quickly looked away and crossed her arms. She tried to huff and put on a show of reacting with disgust, but all she could manage was an embarrassed, “No!”

“Yeah, when you check me out, it’s,” Shayne raised one hand to make air quotes, “ _socially acceptable_ , but when I buy a telescope to watch Debra from next door sunbathe, I’m on a _Predator Watchlist_.”

Courtney doubled over laughing. Shayne held his deadpan delivery’s composure for all of two seconds before joining her. The rest of the ride went similarly, as most of their car rides did. They talked, joked, poked fun at each other, and eventually fell into a companionable silence that Courtney treasured. The distinction between joking and flirting had gotten blurred some point after Shayne’s blind date. There was a sort of mutual understanding that had formed when they deleted their dating apps. They’d be kidding themselves if they said they had no feelings for each other. But they lingered in this limbo of theirs for so long now, it was hard (and a little terrifying) imagining what leaving it would look like. The next step they took was inevitably going to be a step over the deep end, and they were both too chickenshit to take the plunge. So, they wordlessly agreed to abide by what she said all those months ago. They were just letting it happen.

They arrived at Shayne’s with little incident. Courtney called first dibs on the shower, while Shayne stashed some beers in the freezer to quickly chill them. He swore he wouldn’t forget them in there and let them explode. She took her time, enjoying the hot steam that filled up the enclosed space. As she rinsed off, she watched as the lather swirled and disappeared down the floor drain.

A memory came to Courtney out of nowhere while her eyes studied the pristine shower floor. Kari was always the chill sister. But Kari never missed the chance to nag her over how much of a mess Courtney’s ex was. She’d always tell Courtney she should get together with Shayne, because he was a very clean guy, and that made him husband material. Courtney’s eyes snapped away from the floor, but instead found the equally sparkling walls, not the slightest hint of grime nor mold in sight. Kari wasn’t wrong.

Courtney shook her head to clear the thoughts. She toweled off and began to get dressed. As she pulled a fresh pair of shorts on, Shayne’s stack of neatly folded clothes caught her attention. He laid out his post-shower clothes ahead of time. Courtney spotted his Favorite Pizza Place shirt at the top, which was the comfiest damn thing he owned. With a mischievous smile, Courtney grabbed it and pulled the white shirt on. The large shirt reached down to just the middle of her thigh. After giving herself a once over in the mirror, she stepped out. Shayne was sitting on one of the stools by his dining table.

“Like my shirt?” Courtney grinned.

Shayne looked up from his phone. He rolled his eyes as he hopped off the stool, “Looks familiar.”

Courtney frowned and tilted her head in mock-confusion, “Really? Huh. That’s weird.”

Shayne hip-checked Courtney on the way to the bathroom, causing her to give a startled yelp. He glanced over his shoulder, “Feel free to grab a beer. Should be cold enough.”

“Nah, I’ll wait for you.” Courtney waved the offer off with a smile. Shayne nodded in acknowledgment before disappearing into the bathroom.

Courtney made her way over to her bag. She dropped it on the ground by Shayne’s coffee table before coming down to sit cross-legged next to it. Courtney dumped her used clothes into one laundry bag. The minutes ticked by as Courtney searched. It took a bit of unpacking to find the lotion. Shirts, underwear, swimsuits, toiletries – they all spread out across Shayne’s floor before she found the bottle in question. Courtney took her time re-packing the mess she made before placing the lotion in an accessible pouch.

Courtney heard the shower shut off. She walked over to Shayne’s refrigerator to open the freezer door. She retrieved two cans then transferred the remaining two to the fridge. Shayne emerged wearing a grey shirt and some comfy looking plaid lounge pants. Courtney loved seeing him in home clothes. He looked so cuddlable. He _was_ so cuddlable.

Shayne stepped forward to accept the booze. He cracked it open before clinking the can against hers. Courtney turned to the couch to conceal the little smile that was creeping up her face. He never failed to toast her. She could swear, every time they shared a drink, be it cocoa or beer, or anything else, Shayne had to clinked them together. It was such a dumb, cute little habit that was so quintessentially Shayne, and she loved it.

Courtney dropped down onto the sofa and glanced back to find Shayne rummaging through some drawers in the kitchen. She craned her head to get a better look, “Lookin’ for something?”

“Getting you my first aid kit,” Shayne said. Courtney snorted quietly. She wasn’t sure why it was so amusing to her.

“Is it in like a little doctor’s bag from the 90s? Or is it all bright red with a white cross?”

Shayne straightened up with a sigh. He took a swig of his beer before stepping around the divider. In his hand was a tin box – almost like a lunch box – with printed caution tape, blood splatters, and bullet holes. The label proudly declared it as a Zombie Survival Kit.

A fit of giggles overcame Courtney.

“What – what is that?!” She asked between breaths, “Did you get that from a toy store?”

Shayne set it down on the coffee table before sitting next to her with an amused smile of his own, “Damien gave it to me as a housewarming gift some time back.”

Courtney bit back the laughter, but couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, “Yeah, you’re a responsible big boy alright.”

He flipped the latch and opened up the kit. To Shayne’s credit, it was a well-stocked first aid kit, despite its appearance. She could make out a few disinfectants, band-aids and bandages of all shapes and sizes, miscellaneous tubes of creams and ointments, and an assortment of pills and tablets. After a bit of digging, he uncovered a small white tube. He brought it closer to his face to read the small print, then gave it an approving nod.

Courtney was about to extend her hand to take the tube when Shayne eased himself onto the floor. He shuffled a little and turned so he was facing her knees. He placed a gentle hand on her leg, taking the utmost care not to touch the bruises.

“Up on the table, please,” Shayne gave her a brief smile before applying some of the cream to his fingers.

Courtney looked down at him and felt her throat dry. This was a bit more intimate than what they were used to, especially considering how high up her legs those bruises went. When he mentioned this earlier, she hadn’t thought of him applying the cream himself. It’s not that she didn’t trust Shayne – she did, more than she could explain – but she wasn’t sure she was mentally prepared for him to run his hands all over her thighs.

Who was she kidding? She’d been imagining his hands on her thighs and less appropriate places for longer than she’d admit. It was about time.

Shayne appeared to sense her hesitation. His eyes darted from his hands to her legs; the gears were quick to click in his head. Shayne withdrew the hand on her leg, “Shit – sorry, Court. Is this okay?”

This sweet, considerate boy.

Courtney propped her feet up onto the coffee table to alleviate his doubt. She took Shayne’s face in her hand and stroked his cheek with her thumb. Those gorgeous blue eyes looked up at her, watching and waiting for permission. Shayne could be her husband and she bet he’d still ask if it was okay to touch her. The thought made her smile, and so she threw him a question she already knew the answer to.

“Would you ever take advantage of me, Shayne?”

“Never.”

“Then that’s all I need.”

Shayne looked down at his lap, then away from her. Courtney let her hand settle back on her own lap. She could see the crinkle in his eyes and the quirk by his mouth. He licked his lips in that way he did whenever she rendered him speechless. When he regained his composure, he turned back to face her with a twinkle in his sapphire eyes.

“Okay.”

There was always that certain way he said that word. It was such a simple, catch-all word. Courtney couldn’t place what made it so different when he said it. There was this trust, this sweetness, maybe vulnerability. It was the kind of vulnerability that could only come from believing in another person so wholly. It was like Shayne presented his heart to her with that word, and he trusted her completely with it.

Or maybe Courtney was just projecting, because she was the one that just laid her complete and total trust bare for him to see.

Instead of pondering it further, Courtney tilted her head to direct Shayne to begin working on her legs. He obliged. His fingers gingerly pressed against the various bruises scattered across her mottled legs. He dotted each identifiable one with a small amount of the cream. Shayne wore a slight frown on his face as he concentrated, being sure not to miss any spots. It was meticulous, precise work.

It wasn’t nearly as sensual as Courtney was prepared for. She was almost disap-

Shayne began rubbing the cream down in soothing circles. He worked his way from bruise to bruise with that relaxing pattern. The circles he drew gradually grew larger as he connected more bruises with the broad motions. All the care in the world was being placed in his touch. His talented fingers inched higher up her thighs in deliberate yet careful strokes. She felt the tingles spreading up her legs, into her core, and then throughout her body as a heavy warmth washed over her. Courtney had to close her eyes and let him work; if she looked at him while he did this, she wasn’t going to be liable for the lewd sounds that slipped from her mouth.

“Am I going too hard?”

Courtney opened her eyes to look back at his dumb handsome and concerned face. She realized that the visible tightness in her brow, from the effort of keeping her shit together, could easily be misinterpreted as discomfort. Even if it was anything but.

“No, no. You’re doing fine, babe.”

Shit.

Shayne huffed out a laugh, head swiveling away again to regain composure.

“Don’t laugh!” Courtney scolded him, even as she laughed herself.

“ _You’re doin’ fine, babe! Touch me harder, babe!_ ”

Courtney smacked him on the shoulder as she did her best to act offended, “Can you not?”

Shayne leaned away to avoid a second hit while wearing that shit-eating grin she loved. His hands came up as a sign of peace as he said, “All done, anyway.”

“Good,” Courtney retracted her legs and stood up to approach her bag nearby, “Your turn.”

Shayne downed a few gulps of booze before frowning at Courtney, “My turn?”

“Yeah, I got some lotion for your sunburn. Should help with the sensitivity and the peeling… I didn’t pack it in a big boy first aid kit like you though.”

Shayne snorted.

Courtney turned back to face him, bottle in hand. She sat back down and took a sip of her beer before motioning with her hand, “C’mon, shirt off, big guy.”

“What?” Shayne blinked.

“I’m not gonna put this stuff on through your shirt, dude.”

Shayne raised his eyebrows, “Right.”

He grabbed his shirt by the hem and pulled it up and over his head. Courtney consciously avoided biting her lip at the sight of him. Even as her heart skipped a beat admiring those sculpted pecs. Even as another wave of warmth filled her body checking out his chiseled abs. Damnit, she was ogling again.

Shayne shifted on the couch to turn his back to her. If he noticed her wandering eyes, he certainly paid them no mind. “The front’s mostly okay. My back and shoulders got the worst of it.”

Courtney felt a pang of sympathy at the sight of the angry red skin that glared back at her.

“Aw, Shayne.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“It _looks_ that bad.”

“Lucky I got you, then.” Shayne chuckled.

“You’re damn right,” Courtney took another second to admire his muscular back before taking a swig from her can of liquid courage.

“Thanks for doing this, Court.”

“Just returning the favor,” She squeezed the lotion onto her hands, “This might sting a little at first, okay?”

Shayne raised his arm to give a thumbs up. She tried and failed not to notice the way the muscles of his traps, his delts, his whole damn arm moved to deliver the gesture. Courtney wondered far too often what it felt like to be held down by those massive arms. In casual conversation, Kari once asked her if she thought Shayne Topp was a top. At the time, Courtney told her she didn’t know. Kari had simply winked and told her to find out. Courtney felt another flush come on from the memory. She wasn’t sure if her body could get any hotter, or her face any redder. She was glad Shayne couldn’t see her.

Courtney started with his shoulders. She eased her hands onto his skin, slowly and evenly spreading the lotion around. She took extra care at the top of his shoulders, where the burn was the worst. Her tender fingers danced across his pink skin until she was satisfied by the coverage. Courtney then applied more to her hands and began with his back. Courtney had seen Shayne’s bare back over a dozen times already. Running her hands against it up close and personal was a different story. Paint him grey and Courtney wouldn’t be able to tell him apart from a statue of Adonis. Courtney’s hands explored his skin. She intently watched all the movements his muscles made in response to her touch. Every twitch from the initial sting. Every shift as the tension eased from his body. She wanted to commit it all to memory.

There were many times Courtney felt Shayne’s muscular back through his shirt when they embraced. Seeing him and touching him like _this_ made her head a little fuzzy, and the beer wasn’t helping. She was filled with the overwhelming urge to massage him. She wanted to make him feel good, get all the tension and knots out of his stunning body. She wanted to memorize the feeling of him against her hands. She wanted him to melt like putty at her touch. She wanted to know what it felt like digging her nails into his back.

Okay, that was a bit different. Courtney cursed herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this inappropriately thirsty.

“Hey, Court?”

Courtney hoped to God that Shayne hadn’t suddenly gained the ability to read minds.

“Y-yeah?”

“I was just thinking about the second challenge from a few days ago,” Shayne began.

“Go on,” Courtney said as she rubbed away at his back. She was grateful for the distraction.

“When the question was about the most shippable couple, you mentioned how you get teased a lot, like on the internet _and_ at work.”

There was an uncertainty in Shayne’s tone that made Courtney frown. She continued spreading the last of the lotion across his lower back.

“Yeah, you know how they can get.” Courtney shrugged off-handedly.

“Does it bother you that much?”

Courtney remembered the moment Shayne was referring to. She predicted her team would vote for Shayne and herself, only to find that it was just Damien who voted for them. Shayne had later explained to Courtney that Damien was the only one that knew about their complicated relationship. But going back, she remembered how she explained her prediction, just as Shayne had recounted it. Courtney hadn’t even thought of what that might sound like to Shayne.

Courtney’s hands slid against and around his sides to come to a rest above his navel. She gingerly brushed her thumbs against his bare skin in motions she hoped were comforting. Courtney closed the distance to press herself against his back and perch her head on his shoulder; she was careful not to agitate his sensitive skin.

“It only bugs me as much as any of their other teasing bugs me, okay? It’s not about you.”

Shayne was silent. He chose instead to bring his hands up to settle over her own. He traced those familiar, invisible patterns against her knuckles.

“Besides, I can’t be too obvious about _us_ ,” Courtney said quietly, in that voice she saved for him and for him alone.

“Don’t worry about the stuff I say while we’re filming, ‘kay?” Courtney hesitated for just a second before placing a tender kiss to Shayne’s neck, eliciting a shudder from the man. “All that matters is the stuff I say here, to you.”

Shayne’s head ducked, and Courtney could picture that shy smile of his. He squeezed her hands before craning his neck back to look at her. Those sincere ocean blue eyes were gazing right at her with all the trust in the world.

“Thanks, Court.” His breathy reply came out in a whisper that fanned her face. Courtney failed to resist glancing at those soft, tempting lips. Their faces were inches apart. All she needed to do was tilt her head and lean in by the slightest bit…

The vibration of Shayne’s phone was earsplitting in the thick silence of his living room. Shayne’s head snapped in its direction. He gave Courtney a sheepish smile and squeezed her hands one last time. Courtney took that as her cue to release him. She leaned back into the sofa; arms partially crossed. Her one hand came up to press her knuckles against her lips. That was probably for the better. They couldn’t go down that road. Not yet. Maybe not ever. It was risky. They were co-workers. It was taboo. And when was the last time a YouTube relationship felt sincere and real?

Courtney repeated this to herself, hoping it would convince her. Even as her heart ached watching Shayne pull his shirt on. She resisted the urge to tug it back off and kiss him like her life depended on it. Courtney picked her beer up and took a big swig to distract herself.

Shayne inspected his vibrating phone, then raised it up for Courtney to see Damien’s name and picture on the screen.

“Hey man, what’s up?”

After a cursory shake of Shayne’s can, Courtney kept busy by walking to the fridge now that both their cans were thoroughly drained. She picked two fresh cans up and began walking back to Shayne.

“No, no – yeah – it’s all good,” Shayne turned to her, “Say hi to Damien, Courtney.”

Courtney plopped back down next to Shayne and leaned in to get close to the receiver, “Heeeey, Damimien!”

Courtney cracked both cans open and handed Shayne his. His hand hovered close to toast hers, and she pulled her own can back. Shayne shot her a confused look. Courtney capitalized on the moment to clink their beers together first before he could react. She stuck her tongue out at him.

The bewilderment in Shayne’s expression was matched only by the amusement that was quick to bubble up at her behavior. He shrugged her off and took a swig.

“Really? Dude – I told you,” Shayne laughed, “I told you she wasn’t making excuses. Of course Alice wants to see you for a second date. I’m so happy for you, man.”

Courtney smiled at that. She and Shayne successfully set Damien and Alice up on a date, and with much less conspiring and espionage than what Brian had pulled. The first date went great, and they were both so happy for them. Some time after that, Damien asked her on a second date, but Alice said she was busy. Damien was rather crestfallen at that and was worried she was making excuses to avoid seeing him again. His anxiety was getting the better of him and he thought maybe she didn’t enjoy the first date after all.

It turned out it wasn’t an excuse; her company had a big project that was nearing completion. It was over now, and Alice was free as a bird, and couldn’t wait to see Damien again. Courtney had yet to meet the famous Alice, but Shayne vouched for her, and she made Damien happy, so Courtney could be happy for them. It was better than if Alice wound up with Shayne, after all.

Courtney couldn’t remember the last time she was hit with a wave of dread as powerful as the moment Shayne told her of his blind date. There were so many emotions that erupted to the surface in that moment. Hurt, because how could he do this to her? Fear, because what would happen next? Betrayal, because wasn’t what they had special? Confusion, because why did he go through with this? Loss, because how could she move on and recover from this? There were too many to name.

It was a wake-up call for Courtney. She knew she was falling, but Jesus was she falling fast. There were a few scant seconds – the moments after he revealed the date, and before he cleared up all the confusion. A different sort of fear sent a chill running down her spine. Not from the betrayal or the loss. It was fear born in that moment where not a single thing changed in how she felt about Shayne.

She was angry and upset and confused, yes. But did she care for him any less? No. Could she stay upset with him? No. Courtney realized he could’ve had a date with that woman and made out with her in his Civic (which she thought was the case before he clarified), and she would’ve taken him back and held him all night if he apologized. Hell, she might have even justified it for him – they weren’t dating, she had no sole claim over him. And it was stupid and irrational, and Courtney knew she would’ve done it in a heartbeat.

Courtney never before felt that strongly and intensely about anyone. It was terrifying. How could she be so deeply infatuated with Shayne – with anyone – that not a damn thing could make her turn her back on him? And what would Shayne think if he found out how deeply these feelings for him now ran? It would send him running for the hills. A year ago, they were trading snacks. Now, Shayne could run her over with his car, and Courtney would thank him for it.

Okay, maybe that’s blowing it out of proportion, but facts were facts: she was out of her mind.

But at the same time, Courtney could take one look at Shayne and she had all the answers. How could she fall this hard and feel this strongly? Look at him. This is Shayne fucking Topp. He’s dependable, funny, considerate, polite, smart, sweet, insightful, and too fucking handsome for his own good. The list would go on for eternity if she continued. So again, she subscribed to the mantra she told Shayne: just let it happen.

Shayne bid Damien goodbye and ended the call. He took a sip from his beer before saying, “I’m really happy for Damien, Court.”

He loved his friends with all his heart. You could add that to the list.

“Me too. I’m still a little surprised she agreed to the first date. You’d think she would learn her lesson after being set up by a Topp brother once.”

Shayne barked out a laugh at that, but nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I don’t think Brian would get stellar Yelp reviews for his matchmaking service.”

“My date was cute, but he was spaced out and thinking about his hot blonde friend all night, 0/10 would not date again,” Courtney made the motions of typing in the air.

“Cute, you say?’ Shayne quirked an eyebrow.

“My date was also really short,” Courtney continued her typing gestures, “And he had a strange frog-like body.”

“Hey!”

Courtney laughed at the pout Shayne put on. He crossed his arms and pointedly looked away from her for good measure. Courtney wrapped her arms around him and went on in a baby voice, “Who’s the frog boy? Who? Hmm? Yoouu!”

Shayne craned his neck further to look away from Courtney. He remained resolute and held the pout in place.

“Aw, Shayne,” Courtney giggled, “I’m kidding, look at me – hey – babe, look at me.”

Shayne rolled his eyes and turned to give Courtney a side-eye. His pout cracked to a half-smile.

“I’m kidding – you’re fine, okay?” Courtney pecked Shayne on the cheek for good measure. His bashful smile broke through, and he turned his head to look at her completely. Too bad she could never resist a good follow-up.

“You’re _my_ short frog boy.”

“God _damnit_ , Courtney!”

Courtney laughed at Shayne’s exclamation. Shayne made to stand up – probably to make a show of walking off dramatically. Courtney intercepted him by swinging her legs up onto his lap and holding onto him tighter.

“You’re mine and you’re not going anywhere,” Courtney declared in her baby voice.

To her surprise, Shayne stood up anyway, and she let out a yelp. Shayne hooked one hand under her legs, while he wrapped the other around her waist. When she thought about it, maybe she shouldn’t be so surprised. Courtney (while admiring his ass) had seen Shayne squat easily twice her weight at the gym, after all.

Shayne looked at Courtney for all of two seconds before his composure broke and he started laughing hard. He was forced to sit back down and release her before he dropped her by accident.

“What’s so funny?”

“I just imagined going full WWE on you and slamming you through the coffee table.” Shayne managed in between laughs

“What the fuck, dude?” Courtney laughed nevertheless.

“Don’t you ever get those weird, sudden urges?” Shayne said as his laughter died down.

“Like… I guess?”

“Sometimes when we’re lying down, I just think to myself, huh, wouldn’t it be so funny if I pushed Courtney off the sofa?” Shayne said it like it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

“You’re insane,” Courtney giggled and shook her head in bewilderment, “I’m calling the cops and getting a restraining order.”

Shayne’s legs landed on her lap, and his cheek was pressed flush against hers before she could react. He mimicked her baby voice, “You’re mine and you’re not going anywhere.”

“You’re so dumb! Get your own material! I’m gonna tell Ian you’re stealing my bits!” Courtney struggled to separate herself from Shayne’s tight hold.

“We’re not even on the clock!”

“Tell that to dad!”

“Tell that to wh-” Shayne was interrupted by Courtney’s fingers jabbing at his sides in a swift attack that was almost second nature to her now. His elbows tucked back to protect his flanks, and Courtney successfully broke free from his hold on her.

“Jeez, lady, you never fight fair.”

“Course I don’t. I fight to win.” Courtney gave him a sly smirk.

“Okay, Machiavelli.”

“Okay, nerd.”

Shayne poked one of her bruises, because he was a petty child. Courtney let out a sound akin to a squeak as she batted his hand away. She lunged at him and got her hand into the collar of his shirt so she could touch his burned shoulder. Shayne let out a shriek of his own and grabbed at her arms to stop her.

Okay, so she was petty too, but who cares?

They went at it for a minute or two, reaching for each other’s sensitive blotches of skin to poke and flick. Shayne eventually overpowered Courtney, who was too fixated on touching his sunburn to tickle him instead. She tried burping in Shayne’s face at one point to distract him, but all it did was gross him out. Courtney found herself pinned to the sofa with her hands over her head. Shayne towered over her, either not noticing or not caring about the compromising position they were in, since he too was fixated on winning their grapple. He panted slightly, but his smug, mischievous grin didn’t waver. Courtney’s mind was quick to take their current situation to the gutter like the horndog she was. Maybe Shayne Topp was a top after all.

“You think Ian would fire us if he walked in and saw us right now?” Shayne asked.

Courtney laughed as Shayne climbed off of her and helped pull her back up. She shook her head, “Nah, Ian stans Shartney.”

“You’re right. Knowing Ian, he’d tell us to behave, then run away to preserve the purity of his eyes,”

“Maybe he’d watch.”

Shayne’s face scrunched up in disgust, “Gross.”

“I didn’t say what he’d watch! Get your mind out of the gutter, dude.” Courtney scoffed, as if her mind hadn’t just been there.

Shayne avoided her eyes and licked his lips. He was steadily becoming beet red. Courtney laughed at his expense and all Shayne could do was shake his head. When Courtney had her fill of harassing Shayne, she laid off him. She chose instead to hug his arm and reassure him that she was just pulling his leg.

Their evening routine fell into place soon after that. Shayne booted up one couch co-op game or another on his console. They propped their feet up on the coffee table and got playing. After the third time Courtney dozed off for a split second and endangered Shayne’s character, they decided it was time to call it a night. They had a busy day and a long week. It was no surprise they were turning in earlier than usual.

“Fetch the pillows, LVP,” Courtney sprawled out on the sofa.

Shayne rolled his eyes fondly as he stood up to do just that. He grabbed their empty cans before walking off. Courtney’s eyes fluttered shut, and she found herself slipping in and out of sleep every few seconds. After her own soft snore caused her to jolt awake, she found Shayne sitting on the edge of the couch, pillows in hand. Courtney gave him a bright smile and extended her hands to accept the pillows. She got them in place and fluffed them while Shayne eased himself into his usual spot behind her.

Courtney giggled softly and turned her head when Shayne’s warm, ticklish breath fanned the back of her neck.

“You know, I never got to tell you,” Shayne began.

“Hm?” Courtney hummed as her hand came to rest on top of his own around her waist.

“I really like what you did with your hair,” Shayne mumbled in a tone that made it clear he would doze off any minute now, “The pink. It’s cute.”

Courtney grinned, and shuffled backwards to press closer to him if it was even possible, “Thanks, Shayne. I’m glad you noticed.”

Courtney swore nobody commented on the subtle dye in her hair that she wore just for Mushroom Clout. It made her giddy inside, knowing that if anyone would notice, it would be Shayne.

“G’night, Court.”

“Night, Shayne. I…” Courtney gulped a little to stop the train of thought.

“Hm?” The inquisitive hum rumbled from deep in Shayne’s chest, and Courtney savored the sensation of feeling the gentle vibration roll over her.

“Nothin’. Just glad you’re here.”

“Course I’m here. We’re in my house.”

Courtney giggled and pinched his hand in response to his sass. Shayne’s soft chuckling quieted down as he began to drift off.

It was a close call. Courtney had been having more and more of those lately. She was afraid she was going to drop the L-bomb on him by accident one of these days. It was usually in these quiet moments in the evening, when their voices were soft, and their bodies were entwined. It just felt like such a natural thing to say. Like her vocal cords had done it a thousand times before. It felt like second nature. But no, she couldn’t. Courtney didn’t need to drop that on him. She’d much rather let Shayne take the initiative when he was ready.

Courtney fell into a deep sleep not long after. She dreamt of Shayne, which was common whenever they slept together. The most common dreams were usually mundane. They were at work, or at home, or maybe out walking. They talked about disjointed, nonsensical things you only discuss in dreams. The other dreams of Shayne were manifestations of her incredibly repressed emotions and libido. It was her one chance to let loose.

This was one of those nights. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Tonight, Courtney got to see his body up close, and was fortunate enough to touch him and feel him with her own two hands, after dreaming about it for far too long. So, it was only natural she dreamt of Shayne’s sculpted figure looming over her. Courtney dreamt of raking her nails across Shayne’s broad back as he made her his. She dreamt of him pinning her hands above her head before he kissed her. Courtney knew Shayne was a gentle soul. He’d take the utmost care with her when he kissed her. Courtney would have to egg him on to kiss her hard and rough like his life depended on it. She looked forward to the experience some day.

When she came to in the morning, she frowned, and wondered if she was still dreaming. For the first time in the long months they’d been sleeping flushed against one another, with nary a scant inch between them, she felt a stiffness pressing against her ass. Courtney felt a fresh surge of heat crash over her body as realization set in. The grin on her flushed face soon followed. A murmur from Shayne caught her attention – soft, breathy, and sounding vaguely like her name.

And fuck, if that wasn’t the hottest thing she’d ever heard.

Courtney turned the slightest bit to get a look at her couch-mate, and felt Shayne awaken. His entire body tensed – which was easy to tell, considering the compromising circumstances. Courtney propped herself up on her elbow and craned her neck to see Shayne’s mortified face. She gave him a sly grin.

“Someone’s happy to see me,” Courtney observed.

“Fuck.” Shayne’s hips bucked back, and he angled himself away from her. He spun around with speed Courtney didn’t know he possessed. He curled into a ball facing the couch’s backrest as he called out, “I’m sorry!”

Courtney let out a laugh and began to shuffle around to face him.

“Jesus, I – Court – fuck,” Shayne buried his face into the backrest, “I’m so sorry, it’s – fuck!”

If he could burrow into the sofa, Courtney was pretty sure he would. His entire body was flushed red with embarrassment. Courtney struggled to hold back the tide of giggles.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Courtney swung her leg up and over his. She brought her arms around him to do her best to envelope the poor, humiliated boy.

She heard him produce a long groan against the fabric of the mattress, followed by another, “Fuck.”

“It’s okay, Shayne,” Courtney giggled again, because how could she not when he was reacting like this? “I know it’s, like, biology – you can’t help it.”

Courtney pressed a kiss to the nape of his neck as he released another agonized groan. She laughed, even as he groaned louder. Courtney didn’t know how many more reassurances she had to utter before Shayne could turn to look at her. He was no less red, and his face was twisted into an embarrassed grimace. It was so inexplicably adorable, and she loved him for it. Courtney loved him. There was no doubt about it.

There were many things Courtney remembered about the progression of her relationship with Shayne.

She remembered the yogurt cups and granola bars. His happiness was the guiding light that led her back to her own happiness.

She remembered how he shrieked out her apartment window and held her hand in the dim light. That formerly anxiety-ridden night wound up being the safest she’d felt in a long time.

She remembered how he took her in during the Defy shutdown. Together, they learned they could depend on each other through thick or thin. She would always remember that first night he held her in his arms until the morning.

She remembered Shayne’s blind date, and the icy fear that spread through her veins. She remembered the moment of utmost clarity she realized she wanted the man all to herself and would accept no other. She remembered the second wave of dread that struck her when she realized she cared so deeply for him, there was likely nothing he could do to make it stop.

She remembered being mesmerized by the perfection that was Shayne Topp’s body, and the feel of his muscles underneath her fingers. She became painfully aware of how much she _wanted_ him, and not just in all the pure and chaste ways.

What Courtney couldn’t remember was the precise moment she fell completely in love with Shayne. It was exceedingly difficult to pick apart the memories. She felt it in every whispered _“is this okay?”_. Every hoodie and shirt he pretended not to notice went missing. Every toasted can of cool beer. Every clinked mug of hot cocoa. Every slip up of _“babe”_. Every scritch-scratch on Jango’s head. Every stolen glance. Every shy ducking of his head. Every yogurt cup and granola bar. Every warm breath against the nape of her neck as he drifted off with a hand wrapped around her waist.

Courtney figured that perhaps she had always loved him all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading up to the end here! Please leave some kudos and drop a comment; tell me your favorite parts, tell me what you liked, I love hearing from you!
> 
> I think this might be my favorite chapter so far, solely for like the last ten lines. I apologize if Courtney came off as a bit of a horndog here, but at this point in time, I rationalize that she's got so much pent up inside her that it's just bursting out - she wants to maul this boy but she can't. As a straight guy, it was a little weird and a bit difficult writing the physical attraction to Shayne, but he *is* one of my fitspirations, so that helps. When I bench at the gym, you best believe those reps are for my boy Shayne LOL.
> 
> It's bittersweet to say, but I think the story is coming to a close soon. I don't want to drag this on longer than the natural progression would go. I expect the last chapter should be the final one, and written from Shayne's POV. It'll mirror this chapter in a way of Shayne coming to terms with his relationship with Courtney. My goal is to end it in such a way that it'll end to set up Crossing The Line. I don't think I've ever inadvertently written the end of a story before the beginning and body, but here we are. Let's see how that goes.
> 
> I'll end this long note by saying the final scene is inspired by a chapter in "My breath is for holding" by therestlessbrook. It's a Kastle (Frank Castle x Karen Page) The Punisher AU, which is one of my favorite stories of all time. If that genre and fandom interests you, be sure to check it out.


	6. (Not) Done With Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shayne reflects on his history of love and his relationship with Courtney.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll preface this by saying this is best read as an epilogue for the story. With that in mind, enjoy.

Shayne remembered a time he thought he was done with love.

Years of his life he spent with his now ex. Shayne had spent most of his adult life in a relationship with her. That alone – the longevity – should have spoken volumes about their relationship. But in the end, it didn’t. Shayne couldn’t tell you what the tipping point was. The downward spiral that inevitably led to the collapse of a relationship cultivated over years and years. There were a lot of things he could point out.

Shayne didn’t think he ever made enough time for her. When his time with So Random came to a close, the prospect of more time with her came up, but that was dashed away when Smosh came into his life soon after. Becoming a recurring character on The Goldbergs only served to put another wedge in their relationship. His Psychology degree? Maybe it was the final nail in the coffin. They say absence – or perhaps in his case, time spent apart – makes the heart grow fonder. Shayne could clock whoever said that in the fucking teeth.

Distance, time – it does things to a relationship. Shayne had seen failing relationships all throughout his life. Growing up, in high-school, or in the professional field. There was no shortage of friends, family, and colleagues who went through bad breakups. The lengths of those relationships varied widely. From one month to ten years, it was a whole smorgasbord of failed relationships.

Time apart, Shayne learned, sowed discontent. It bred mistrust. At least, it did in his ex. Shayne was trusting. Some would say too trusting for his own good. As Shayne worked away at his degree, he later came to learn that the term was called Projection. In the final gasping, dying breaths in the last few months of their relationship, the lady grew increasingly jealous. She was worried Shayne was beginning to take interest in other women. She was particularly worried about Courtney (Boy, if she could see them now), but Shayne had shut that shit down and locked away any inklings of feelings the moment he met her. Shayne loved his girlfriend. He loved her up until the moment she took his heart in her hands and tore it in two.

The misplaced jealousy, Shayne eventually understood, had likely come from his ex’s own conflicted feelings. She had been projecting her own insecurity and behavior onto Shayne. There was someone she knew – some coworker or what that Shayne didn’t have the heart to learn more about. His ex had grown attached to him in the time leading up to the demise of their relationship. That told him enough. But in the end, he still blamed himself. Maybe if he set aside more time. Maybe if he told her more often how much she meant to him. Maybe if he just loved her harder.

There was a time Shayne was convinced he was going to marry the woman. He remembered being in the mall one day with Damien and the rest of the So Random crew. They walked past a jewelry store, and Shayne stopped to take a look. He could see his own dumb, lovestruck face in the store’s mirror. He didn’t catch Damien’s doubtful gaze. Damien was always the sharp one. He knew the ship was sinking before Shayne could fully see it himself. But that day, Shayne remembered looking at the rings. Honest to God, he told himself that day: he would save up for a ring and propose to her. He’d been with her for years and years now; it only made sense that he’d marry her.

And a few months later, it was all over. He was hurting and confused, and he didn’t even know where to begin. How the fuck does one pick up the pieces when the person you’ve loved for most of your adult life leaves you? When you’ve built so much with a single person – taken them in and ingrained them until they’re a part of you – it was impossible to imagine what the future would be like without that person. Yet it happened anyway.

Shayne remembered that day after the breakup. They were filming one ridiculous skit or another at Smosh. In between takes, Shayne would sit down and just zone out. There was too much on his mind. He did his best to be present and deliver a good performance, but anyone watching could see that the spark in his eyes had gone out. Shayne remembered when Olivia went up to him and asked if he was doing okay. Apparently, he was that easy to read. Shayne told her he was sore from leg day. It was a shitty excuse, but Olivia either bought it, or respected that he didn’t want to get into it.

In that moment, feeling like pure shit and watching Olivia’s retreating form rejoin the rest of the squad, Shayne told himself he was done with love. It was bullshit. You commit your time and your feelings and your heart to someone for years, only for them to crumple it up into a ball because they realize your relationship isn’t worth fighting for. He was done.

Then along came Courtney Miller and her yogurt cups.

Today, Shayne sat at his desk. His laptop was open, and he was staring at the screen vacantly. They were shooting a new react video in a week or two. It was an idea Courtney pitched; they would react to videos from her old YouTube channel. Shayne was going over the intro script and was supposed to give his comments and suggestions, but right now he was just drawing blanks. It was a long day. They filmed three Try Not To Laugh videos back to back. The word drained didn’t even begin to encompass what he was feeling.

Then a pair of long legs sidled onto the corner of his desk. There she was. Bright smile, radiant golden hair, and Macrogurt cup in hand. God, he could kiss her. But he knew he wouldn’t. He was too chickenshit.

“Hey, boo.” Was Courtney’s casual greeting.

Shayne’s eyes widened, and his head swiveled back and forth to check for anyone within earshot. The room was clear for the moment. The smile on Courtney’s face was widening into a mischievous grin. Shayne hated (not really) it when she did this. It was like a new game to her. She’d drop a pet name on him when they were out in public, when people may be within earshot. Then Shayne would inevitably go red and his eyes would shoot back and forth to detect any possible witnesses. Meanwhile Courtney would grin like a hyena at his reaction.

“What’s got you lookin’ so glum?” Courtney asked.

“Nah, it’s nothing. Just tired. Can’t wait to get home.”

“Would this help?” Courtney extended the cup of yogurt to him.

The too-wide smile that made its way to his face was inevitable. Courtney’s position as his yogurt dealer hadn’t changed in the year or so since she started. Shayne wondered from time to time when she would stop. Nothing was compelling her to keep doing it. His own grocery had finally restocked on the stuff. Sure, he still supplied her granola bars, and could count on two hands the times he forgot to hook her up. But Courtney’s dedication was on a different level.

Shayne thought Courtney was committed to her yogurt gifting when he opened her fridge to pull out a beer. He saw the Macrogurt she stockpiled on his behalf. But it paled in comparison to when Shayne saw the notes on her phone. Shayne was supposed to narrate her bit on Try Not To Laugh using her notes. Problem was she’d pulled the wrong note up when she handed him the phone. He saw a list of grocery chains, along with which ones stocked Macrogurt, which ones had the most variety of flavors, and which were currently out of stock. If that wasn’t commitment, Shayne didn’t know what was.

Shayne took the cup and turned it over in his hands for a moment. Strawberry. It was the first flavor they shared. The breathy laugh came out before he could temper it. Shayne ducked his head a little, before looking back at Courtney. She gave him a perplexed look, but the easy smile never left her features.

“After all this time, huh?” Shayne grinned, “You know, I think there’s been precisely three times you didn’t give me one of these.”

“Two.”

Shayne laughed again, but raised his eyebrows in question, “Just two?”

“I’m not a betting gal, but I am willing to bet it’s just two.” The challenging look in her eyes left no room for speculation. Courtney was probably right.

Shayne raised his hands in a placating gesture, “I believe it.”

“Good,” Courtney shot him that beautiful smile, “I better see those comments on my script soon. ‘Kay, frog arms?”

Shayne snorted into his cup of yogurt but nodded, “Yes, ma’am.”

Courtney eased off his desk to make her way over to her own. Shayne tried not to stare at her cute butt as she walked off. He distracted himself with the yogurt. After taking a few minutes to enjoy the snack, he got back to work. The minutes passed as Shayne keyed in his comments, before moving on to the next script to review. It was the next in the Why We’re Bad At Dating series with Courtney.

Shayne shook his head to himself. He didn’t know if irony began to even describe the whole mess. Here they were, talking about why they were bad at dating. Yet at the same time, they were dancing around this line in the sand where they cuddled every weekend and ingrained themselves into each other’s lives but weren’t dating. Well, the unconventionality of it all and their inability to move on to the next step perhaps did show how bad they were at dating.

Shayne couldn’t remember who pitched the idea for the video. He wasn’t terribly fond of it, but he couldn’t deny that there was a lot of humor to be found in laughing at their bad app-based dating experiences. Courtney and Shayne had to reinstall their respective apps just so they could take screencaps for the video. They deleted them again right after.

Madness. Madness and insanity.

However, everyone loved seeing Shayne and Courtney onscreen, so the first video was a hit, and the second was probably going to be one as well.

Shayne glanced at Courtney. She looked so pretty sitting there, legs crossed, hair tied, and glasses loosely hanging at the tip of her nose. He could never get tired of looking at her. Shayne could imagine her sitting in her apartment looking just like that, pressed up against him. It brought back that familiar feeling of warmth in his chest. It was a feeling he was getting rather intimate with at this point.

The first time it washed over him must have been when Courtney handed him that first yogurt cup. Then again when she embraced him with all the care in the world that he hadn’t felt in years. And again, when they went to sleep in each other’s arms that night they were to be laid off. It was strange at first, feeling that… tingle inside him. He hadn’t felt that way since he and his ex broke up.

Shayne wanted to see her tonight. It was a Wednesday though, and they didn’t get together during the workweek. It was usually too much of a hassle. But now Shayne was thinking about her, and when he started, he couldn’t stop.

He thought of the way her feet brushed against his, and the way she laughed when he would complain that her feet feel cold in the morning. He thought of her lovely body pressed against his, and how her shirt usually rode up a little to expose her midriff. She complained it was ticklish, but at the same time, she pinned his hand in place against her skin, because she enjoyed the sensation. He thought of just how hot Courtney’s body got at night. The woman was a human furnace and they seldom needed a blanket because of it. He thought of her soft blonde hair, and how it started at a reasonable distance from his face when he went to sleep. When he woke up, he felt it all over his face when she inevitably squirmed to get closer to him in her sleep.

Shayne thought of the increasing frequency of the morning wood he was popping. The heat returned to his face in full force and he looked anywhere in the room but Courtney. He could only thank the high heavens that Courtney could take those moments in stride with a quip and a sly smile. She wasn’t afraid, she wasn’t disgusted, she wasn’t offended. Hell, with the way she looked at him sometimes, he had a feeling she got a kick out of it. Shayne shook his head to clear the thoughts.

Courtney stood up just then, shuffling some papers in hand.

“I’m gonna drop these off with Ian. Got anything for him?” Courtney reclaimed her perch at the corner of his desk.

Shayne stood up to get a better look at his messy table. Today was so busy he hadn’t been able to keep everything in order. After gathering up a couple scripts he scribbled notes on by hand, he slid them into a folder and handed it to Courtney. She gave him a nod and made to stand, but stopped when he placed a gentle hand on her leg.

“Hey, Court?” Shayne started.

“Yeah?”

“Mind if I come over tonight?”

Courtney’s brow furrowed slightly in confusion, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I – uhh,” Shayne huffed out a laugh. His head ducked for a second before he licked his lips and looked back up at her, “I just really wanna see you tonight. It’s been a long day and I like unwinding with you.”

The perplexity in Courtney’s expression was wiped clean and replaced with joy in the blink of an eye.

“I’d like that,” She bit her lip for a second, “I’ll see you tonight.”

The doorknob to the room was audibly twisted, before it slipped, and someone sounded to have bumped into the door. Shayne took the opportunity to press a quick kiss to Courtney’s cheek. It elicited a quiet, startled sound from her as she hopped off his desk right as the door opened. Courtney’s cheeks turned pink as she glanced at the door. It was Noah, box of props in hand and none the wiser. It was a close call, just as Shayne intended.

Shayne gave her his best shit-eating grin.

“Too can play at that game, Miller.”

“You win this round, babe.” Courtney turned on her heel and made her exit. Shayne watched her leave with wide eyes. Noah frowned as he exchanged greetings with Courtney and watched her disappear out the door. Noah turned his confused frown to Shayne.

“Did – did I hear that right?”

“Hear what?” Shayne feigned innocence.

“She said…” Noah shook his head sharply and dropped the box of props down at his desk. He settled on giving Shayne that knowing look he’d been seeing far too often. “Nevermind, Shayne.”

Shayne sometimes wondered if it really was a game to Courtney. It was clear she enjoyed prodding a reaction out of him with her pet names and conspicuous, lingering touches when they were at work. But at the same time, maybe she was just tired of hiding. Shayne could understand that. Every time he stood next to her he had to fight back the urge to hold her hand or slide his hand around her waist. There were so many things he wanted to do with Courtney and keeping things on the downlow was getting more and more frustrating. Perhaps Courtney was more frustrated than him, and this was just her way of letting it out.

They never talked about it, but that was no surprise. They didn’t talk about any of the particulars of their strange relationship and the barriers they erected. There was just this silent, mutual understanding that this was just another one of those lines they drew. No being touchy at work (unless it’s specifically to harass the other, apparently). Yet here they were with their boos and their babes and their stolen kisses. It was the inherent problem of drawing lines in the sand. All it takes to blow the whole damn thing away was a breath of fresh air.

The rest of the workday passed uneventfully. Shayne and Courtney split off so they could go to their respective homes. Since Shayne’s visit was unplanned, he needed to go home and pack an overnight bag. It allowed Shayne some time to think, however brief. His overnight bag was always halfway packed. All he needed to add were fresh clothes. All the toiletries and other essentials were already good to go. Shayne stuffed his notebook into the bag in case he got to sneak in some time to study. He had an exam coming up soon.

He moved about with a spring in his step. They hadn’t done this since Rhett and Link picked up Smosh. Ever since they got back to working full time, they’d simply been too busy. Too much was going on to half-live in each other’s homes throughout the week. The weekends they spent together were quickly starting to feel far too short. Their Saturdays began bleeding into the Sundays. More and more often, they’d spent two consecutive nights in a row together. Monday closing in was the only thing that would pull them apart. But Shayne wanted more. Shayne didn’t know if it was selfish of him to want it so badly. He just wanted Courtney in all the ways someone could want another person.

Shayne often daydreamed of moving in with her (or the other way around). The prospect of starting and ending every day with Courtney sounded like the best thing in the world to him. No more being limited by the busy workweek. No more tiptoeing around their friends and hiding their overnight bags. No more pinched time that never felt enough when they were together. He even suggested it once, half-jokingly. Shayne reasoned it would save them both some rent, and they wouldn’t even need to spend money on a bed. Courtney laughed with that glint in her eyes and told him that it sounded fun. But of course, that was a pipe dream for now. Probably another dumb line in the sand they were drawing.

Shayne paused abruptly when he placed his hand on his car’s door handle.

When the fuck was the last time he thought of wanting to move in with another woman?

Shayne licked his now dry lips and entered the car. He buckled up and leaned back against the headrest. After a few deep breaths, he hit the road.

His ex wasn’t the last relationship he found himself in before he and Courtney formed whatever this was. There were a couple of short flames that burned out before long. Shayne wouldn’t call them flings, because that implied there was little to no emotional stock in them. They varied greatly. He’d been on a couple dates. Some ended after the first (Shayne fondly thought of Alice). Some on the second. Maybe one on the fourth or so. There were a number of relationships that lasted some few months before the incompatibilities and differences continued to pile up, until it became clear there wasn’t much of a future ahead of them.

Shayne tried. He honestly did. But there was never any spark. There was no thrill. There was no spring in his step. There was no stupid grin he couldn’t wipe off. There was no daydreaming about moving in together so he could wake up to golden hair in the morning sun every day. The ladies he met were all lovely people, but there was simply nothing of substance between them

And despite Shayne’s trying, he needed to be honest with himself too. He just didn’t believe in love anymore. He went on his dates of varying success. He’d smile, and laugh, and try to put his heart into it. But his heart was far too damaged to be worth giving away anyway, so what was the point? At the start of every first date, he had an inkling that it wouldn’t last. Shayne wasn’t sure he even knew how to make it last if he wanted it to.

The idea of love scared the shit out of Shayne after what happened with his ex. Who could blame him?

So why, Shayne had to ask himself, was he not afraid of his interminable desire for Courtney Miller?

A cold but brief fear washed over Shayne just then, at the fact that Courtney didn’t scare him. It was ridiculously ironic. When his last relationship of a few months suggested they move in to save on rent, he nearly jumped out the window. Now, he was the one fantasizing about a move in. And he wasn’t worried or anxious or afraid of her. This was Courtney he was thinking about.

Courtney, who never complicated things and always had his back. She made things easy. Things were natural with her. Even if their sense of intimacy had an unusual pace and was skewed up by all their spooning, it all just made sense. The last time anything like this made sense to Shayne was before his ex dumped him.

Shayne parked his car and looked up at Courtney’s apartment building. He fetched his bag from the car and locked it. There was a minute of hesitation as he tried to get his thoughts back in order.

He was being stupid. They’d been at this for months now. Shayne couldn’t comprehend how he only now realized how deeply this thing with Courtney really went. How she somehow infiltrated the confines of his heart without tripping a single alarm. There wasn’t a single thing that Shayne could rationally be afraid about. Of course, that was the problem with fear. It was never rational. His lizard brain was telling him he should be afraid. This wasn’t a normal relationship. He shouldn’t be eager to just pack up and move in with Courtney. Love fucking sucked. He was just going to get hurt again.

Shayne gulped as he stared at the building’s entrance.

No. This was Courtney. She wouldn’t hurt him.

With that in mind, Shayne found himself at her front door, knocking rhythmically against the wood. Courtney answered the door with a smile sweet enough to make him melt. Shayne didn’t bother holding back the desire to hold her. There was no need for that when they were alone in the safety of their apartments. He stepped in and dropped his bag so he could pull Courtney into a tight hug. One of Courtney’s hands settled by the nape of his neck, and her fingers brushed against his hair gently. She pulled back just enough to look at him.

“Everything okay?”

Courtney looked adorable with that little furrow in her brow.

Shayne tilted his head to allow his forehead to rest against hers. Courtney closed her eyes as her fingers continued their soothing strokes through his hair.

“I…” Shayne trailed off. He didn’t know how many times a day he’d call her stunning, or gorgeous, or beautiful. But admiring her from this up close always got him tongue-tied.

“Yeah, babe?” Courtney’s eyes fluttered open. She looked at him through the thin veil of her eyelashes in a manner that was absolutely alluring. Paired with the soft tone – that voice she saved just for him in the privacy and sanctity of their home – Jesus, this lady could kill him with that alone.

“What was that?” Shayne tried and failed to bite back the grin. He wasn’t sure when Courtney stopped using babe as a tool to fluster him and instead started calling him that because she could tell he liked it. He didn’t mind. She could call him babe for as long as he lived.

Courtney gave him a smirk. She could read him like an open book. She tilted her head to press a kiss to his cheek before leaning in further. The warm breath against his ear was enough to make his knees weak.

“Yeah, babe?” Courtney whispered, quieter, softer, and with enough adoration to make him melt. She pulled back to giggle at him.

“You’re so red,” She shook her head in amusement, “Answer the question, dummy.”

Shayne held back the shudder that threatened to roll through his body. He instead let out a heavy exhale before answering, “I’m just – I’m happy.”

Courtney’s head gave a curious tilt.

Shayne wasn’t expecting that answer to leave his mouth. He’d been prepared to throw out a generic I’m okay or I’m fine. But when he thought about it, it was true. He was here with Courtney, where he belonged. He wasn’t afraid of being with her. He was happy. Shayne laughed in spite of himself. It earned him another kiss on the cheek before Courtney told him he was too sweet.

Their evening routine fell into place from there. Courtney had ordered his favorite Thai takeout, and it arrived not long before Shayne did. They talked about their usual array of topics over dinner. Scripts, upcoming shoots, the works. They laughed over the impending Why We’re Bad At Dating Apps shoot and the fact they’d already deleted their own apps twice. Courtney elevator pitched the videos from her childhood that she planned to show him and Ian for the react video. She warned him off it was going to be “Cringe Mountain.”

After dinner, Courtney volunteered to be his study partner so he could review for his exam. It was another sweet, thoughtful gesture that all the more reinforced Shayne’s thoughts and chased away his doubts. She sat across the table with her legs crossed, hair tied, and glasses hanging loosely at the tip of her nose. There was something about the way she held his notebook in her hands and gave him cues. Give her a sturdy ruler, and Shayne wouldn’t mind being stuck in detention with Ms. Miller.

Shayne looked down at the paper he was scrawling away on before he got any more ideas.

“Sum up Skinner’s whole shtick for me, Professor Topp. Pretend I’m your adoring student and you’re teaching at… Harvard or something.”

His eyes went back up and locked with Courtney’s. She closed the notebook and leaned forward to rest her chin in her hand, reminiscent of a bored student.

Shayne wouldn’t mind being the one to take a ruler to her either.

He cleared his throat and did his best to shake the lewd imagery from his mind, “Right, so – uhh, with Skinner…”

Courtney graded his summary of B.F. Skinner a D+ but said everything else was on point. Shayne avoided eye contact for good measure until he was sure he stopped thinking about Courtney and rulers.

They turned in early that night, since they had to be up bright and early for work. Shayne settled into his familiar position behind Courtney. He took care to keep his hips pulled back as much as possible. It was an exercise in futility, knowing how Courtney squirmed closer to him in her sleep. At least nobody could say he didn’t try. Shayne’s hand found home pressed against Courtney’s waist, while he enjoyed the tickle of her hair by the tip of his nose. Their feet brushed up against each other in that familiar and comforting way, even if he’d be complaining tomorrow about how cool they got. With a kiss to Courtney’s cheek, they bid each other good night and allowed silence to settle over them.

Sleep didn’t come as easy to Shayne as it did most nights he slept with Courtney. This was to be expected after all the reflecting he’d been doing earlier. His mind wandered back to his small revelation.

Shayne was home. This was where he belonged. That in and of itself wasn’t new. Shayne had felt that for some time now. What was new was this awareness of how easy this all was. It was the lack of a flight response in his brain at the thought of how deeply he felt for Courtney. With those failed dates years ago, every significant advancement in those relationships would set the alarm bells off in Shayne’s head. He wasn’t scared of commitment, no. He was scared of love and its progression and inevitable heartbreak.

Just going on a second date made Shayne’s hands sweat, because it allowed this person a chance to get their roots into Shayne’s cracked heart, and no good could come out of that. With Courtney, that wasn’t the case. With Courtney, there was this sense of security and comfort the closer she got to him.

When one of Shayne’s exes got him a small gift, anxiety rattled at him. He needed to find something to match it. Something good, something that she’d like. He couldn’t fuck it up, or he’d lose her, like he knew he inevitably would.

With Courtney’s yogurt cups and his granola bars, there was no worrying about it. It was a sweet gesture the first time and the hundredth time. It filled him with a simple, giddy joy thinking of exchanging snacks with Courtney.

When he spent the night at an ex’s because he had too much to drink, he was again scared shitless. Sleeping over was a typical large next step in the intimacy of a relationship. It was one he was never eager to take. There were too many factors that went into it, ranging from simple blanket hogging to unspoken expectations and limitations when it came to the physicality of things.

But with Courtney, Jesus, they just dived right into things. Having dinner in her home was delightful. Cuddling up on the couch was nerve-racking at first, but not because of Shayne’s lovesick heart. It was because he was spooning Courtney fucking Miller, and who on earth gets lucky enough to be given that privilege?

Exclusivity was another thing that made Shayne want to quit the dating game altogether. He was never one to play the field. Shayne very much put all his eggs in a single basket, so to say. When he used to date, he was never too crazy over the fact his date may be seeing other guys on the side. Shayne knew he had no say in that sort of thing until he and his date became official. But Shayne also didn’t go on multiple dates at a time. If he found a girl that caught his interest, his attention would solely go to her.

Then here came Courtney. His girl never once looked for anyone else. There was a certain feeling of security that came with the knowledge that Shayne was enough for her. It brought back that warmth in his chest, knowing he was all that Courtney needed.

In Courtney, he discovered a partner he could rely on. Shayne leaned on her just as much as she leaned on him. They supported each other when things were tough. They put each other’s happiness first. They joked and laughed together. Shayne was never afraid of holding back or tempering his sense of humor. He could be his regular silly self, and she would never look down at him for it.

That didn’t say he was ready to take the plunge. Good God, no. Right now, Shayne valued this strange nook they had carved out for themselves. He wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. He wasn’t ready to be swinging the big-L around just yet. He needed to take his time. That was another thing Shayne treasured about Courtney. She allowed him to take his time and he lo-

He greatly appreciated her for it.

Shayne wasn’t sure when he would be ready to take the step off the deep end. But as quickly as the thought came to him, the accompanying thought came to remind him that he didn’t need to worry about that. Courtney would wait. She was patient with him. She wouldn’t force him into anything he wasn’t prepared for. Shayne would cross the line when he was ready to.

After all, he didn’t mind lingering here for a moment where they were in this grey area – walking on this line they built with all the nonsensical boundaries they drew in the sand. No kissing on the lips. No beds. No storing stuff in each other’s places. No talking about what they were. No being physical and sweet in front of their friends. All these lines that could be blown away with a breath of fresh air.

Where they were now was a good place to be. As long as Shayne didn’t explode from his pent-up desire to kiss Courtney and make love to her all night long, he didn’t mind prolonging this stage in their strange little relationship.

There was that word again. Even out of context, the word jumped out at Shayne. Make love. He snorted to himself.

The warm breath of air that danced across the nape of Courtney’s neck caused her to shift. In a move that was a first for him across all the months they’d spent together, Courtney turned around. Her eyes were open just a crack. She lazily swung her leg over his own and idly rubbed her foot against his. Shayne didn’t think it was possible for them to get any closer, but Courtney in her sleep stupor clearly didn’t share the same sentiments. She pressed herself against him and let her face come up to rest in front of his.

Courtney leaned in then, just a bit. She placed a gentle kiss to his cheek, lips dangerously close to the corner of his mouth.

“Sleep… Now. Okay?” Courtney mumbled out.

Shayne let out a breathy chuckle but nodded, “Okay.”

Courtney had a little giggle of her own bubble up to the surface as a vague sense of déjà vu washed over them. “Okay.”

Shayne watched Courtney drift back into sleep with his face inches from her own. It felt more intimate in a way, being face to face with her like this. Was this another line they just blew away? He didn’t know. What he did know was that he liked it.

A murmur came from Courtney’s sleeping mouth – soft, breathy, and sounding vaguely like his name.

Well fuck, he didn’t like it; he loved it.

Shayne figured maybe he wasn’t done with love after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We did it guys! We made it to the end! Please don't forget to leave some kudos and drop a comment if you've enjoyed this little conclusion to the story.
> 
> I'll be honest, this was a really tough one to write. It was like walking a tightrope since I've got to keep it as consistent as possible considering Crossing The Line is what follows this. After having finished all this, I feel like the best reading order is still reading Crossing The Line, then this as a prequel piece.
> 
> I sincerely hope you've enjoyed this journey of ours exploring the progression of their relationship. This story wouldn't have been possible without the overwhelming support from everyone here. I'm happy to have gotten the honor to have you bunch as my dedicated readers.
> 
> I'm not sure yet what's going to follow this. I might drop some oneshot or another maybe taking place some time after Crossing The Line, but that'll depend on if inspiration gives me a good kicking.
> 
> I'm also toying around with an absurd, action-packed, kinda dark Shourtney AU piece. We'll see if that pushes through.


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